Elisheba Kiru and Aulo Gelli

More than 250,000 children in public primary schools in Nairobi will receive regular subsidised school meals provided by the county government. The Dishi Na County programme is Kenya’s first in an urban setting. The national school meal programme set up in 2009 serves more than 1.5 million children in rural drought-affected counties. We asked Elisheba Kiru, who studies education and empowerment, and Aulo Gelli, whose focus is food policy and nutrition, to analyse the new meal programme.

Why are school meals an important intervention?

Households are wrestling with steep increases in living costs brought about by factors like inflation, climate change and the effects of the COVID pandemic. These pressures are felt most by vulnerable populations, particularly those living in dry regions and in informal urban settlements.

There’s a need for innovative solutions using localised, low-tech approaches that improve the quality of life, especially