Nairobi County To Feed 80k Learners As Johnson Sakaja's Dishi Na County Programme Kicks Off

• Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja is expected to launch the first phase of the Dishi na County programme
• Under the programme, the county will distribute subsidised nutritionally balanced meals to all children in public primary schools and public ECD centres
• County Secretary Patrick Analo said the feeding programme will help increase enrollment in public schools

Nairobi - Governor Johnson Sakaja will, on Monday, August 27, commission the Dishi na County school feeding kitchen at the Baba Dogo Primary School.

Sakaja: How much each pupil will pay per plate

The programme was officially launched in June before the construction of the ten kitchens commenced.

The governor said the initiative will help learners from needy and vulnerable families to afford a meal in a day and focus on their studies without worrying about food.

“Feeding kids in school is not a county or national function, it’s a leadership imperative that we have to do,” Sakaja said.

Speaking exclusively with TUKO.co.ke, the Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo said the county will distribute subsidised nutritionally balanced meals to all children in public primary schools and ECD centres.

"The balanced meals will be available for KSh 5 to parents making Dishi na County's lunch meals affordable," Analo said.

Analo further said that the program has huge health and educational benefits for all vulnerable children in Nairobi County.

"This initiative will increase learners' enrolment in school and boost their concentration in class which will, in turn improve performances," added the county secretary

Adding:

"The Dishi na county school feeding program will be implemented through an innovative 3 staged approach to scale up lunch meals delivered, logistics and technology to ensure the County delivers the highest quality of food and service to children."

The county has 17 kitchens, each expecting to prepare meals for 10,000 learners daily. The meals will then be distributed to the ward centres before being dispatched to various schools.

On Monday, the county will distribute meals to 80,000 pupils. In the second phase, which will be launched in two weeks, the county will feed 190,000 children daily.

What Gachagua told UN about school feeding programme

Meanwhile, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claimed that Kenya has successfully implemented the school feeding programme.

During the High-Level Session on Financing Food Systems Transformation at the UN food systems summit+2 stock in Italy, the DP said Kenyan learners were receiving food in school.

The second in command told those at the summit that the feeding programme had doubled the number of children enrolling in schools.

Gachagua expressed his pride in the programme, adding that it had enabled parents to concentrate on their daily hustles.

"I'm very pleased with the session that was here before because in Kenya we have succeeded in having a very good, effective school feeding programme that has doubled school enrollment and when the children have been fed, the parents are able to proceed with their daily hustles," he said.

Additional reporting by TUKO.co.ke correspondent John Papanoo.