Browsing: World Food Programme

School Feeding Ecowas

Ecowas adopting Rwanda’s recipe on school meals as economic catalyst

Countries
  • ECOWAS member states fed 22.4 million school-going children in 2022, up from 20 million learners in 2020.
  • This represents 42% of the 53 million school children in Sub-Saharan Africa who were fed through school feeding programs last year.
  • School feeding intervention, as it happens in Rwanda, can immensely boost agriculture, education, health and nutrition, and social protection sectors. 

The past two years have seen West African countries grapple with a number of crises driven by conflict, climate shocks, and a slow recovery from COVID-19 economic fallout worsened by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member States are, however, defying these tough economic times, emerging as having fed the largest number of school-aged children in Africa.

According to The 2022 State of School Feeding Worldwide report, Ecowas member states fed 22.4 million school-going children in 2022. This was an increase from 20 million children fed

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A farmer in Ethiopia prepares his land for planting post Russia-Ukraine (Credit: Pixabay) https://theexchange.africa/

Africa’s “perfect storm”: Addressing food security in light of conflict

Industry and Trade

Africa's human development cannot proceed until the first and most basic need—food—is met. A report by AusAID titled Improving food security in Africa reveals that over two-thirds of the population relies on agriculture for income and basic food needs. With food, fuel, and fertiliser crises that have followed the extended Russia-Ukraine crisis, the World Bank has described the current conditions in sub-Saharan Africa as "the perfect storm," which includes the COVID-19 pandemic, skyrocketing inflation, a growing debt burden, and harsh weather.

The World Food Programme's 2022 Global Report on Food Crises estimates that 140 million people across Africa are experiencing food insecurity on a regular basis.

With many countries facing food security issues, many nations have partnered with the World Bank to implement a series of short-, medium-, and long-term actions to combat the effects of food insecurity, such as overreliance on imports and persistent drought. These measures are also…

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A total of 29 entrepreneurs from 11 countries in Africa travel to China to participate in an intensive eFounders Fellowship course and become catalysts for digital transformation

Alibaba and WFP unveils AI guided hunger monitoring technology

Africa

Alibaba Group and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will launch a digital map to track food-security issues across the globe.

The “Hunger Map LIVE” will leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to predict and track the magnitude and severity of hunger in close to real-time in more than 90 countries.

The map will allow the WFP, humanitarian-aid organizations and global leaders to identify negative trends early and enable better decision-making to improve response times and cut costs.

“The Hunger Map LIVE is a visual wake-up call every day, showing us a real-time snapshot of the problem and reminding all of us that we must do more to defeat hunger,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley, speaking on the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly in New York.

The map will bring together publicly available information on food security, nutrition, conflict, weather, and macro-economic data to …