Counties urged to adopt school milk for their early childhood education centres
USAID official Mark Carrato with pupils from Central Nursery School and, standing from left, Kenya Dairy Board managing director Margaret Kibogy (standing left), Mombasa County Executive for Education Tendai Lewa, Agriculture County Executive Anthony Njaramba and Agriculture Principal Secretary Andrew Tuimur during the Second National School Milk Conference in Mombasa. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The conference organized by the Kenya Dairy Board was convened to promote the adoption of school milk programmes by county governments.
- Agriculture Principal Secretary Andrew Tuimur noted that the programme would help alleviate the challenge of malnutrition in children and prevent pupils from dropping out of school.
- So far only Mombasa, Migori and Kilifi counties have adopted milk programmes.
The government has urged county governments to adopt school milk programmes for their early childhood development (ECD) centres to provide nutrition to pupils and alleviate childhood hunger.
Speaking at the second National School Milk Conference in Mombasa, Agriculture Principal Secretary Andrew Tuimur called on governors from 44 counties across the nation to adopt the programme and boost health, education and the dairy industry.
So far, only Mombasa, Migori and Kilifi counties have adopted the programme.
Mr Tuimur noted that the programme, if embraced, would help alleviate malnutrition in children and prevent pupils from dropping out of school.
Apart from benefiting children, the PS said the programme has also expanded the market for more than one million small-scale dairy farmers.
Currently, he said, the country produces an estimated 5.2 billion litres of milk annually.
Kenya Dairy Board chairman Anthony Mutugi said his agency had identified the school milk programme as a key pillar to boosting the dairy industry.
“We are therefore committed to partnering with county governments and other stakeholders to entrench a successful school milk programme in our society,” he said.
He said apart from the nutritional and health benefits to schoolchildren, the programme would increase demand for milk and related products.
“The programme also nurtures a milk drinking culture, which contributes to a health population and a long-term market for milk products,” he added.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE INCREASES
USAID acting deputy mission director Mark Carrato said that through the Kenya Agricultural Value Chain Enterprises, the organisation had supported the concept of a sustainable school milk programme in Kenya.
He said USAID had helped county governments set up relevant policies and legislation for implementing the programme.
“History has shown that school attendance increases when school feeding programmes are in place,” he said.
“Students who are not hungry will learn more efficiently and the rate of normal mental and physical development will increase.”
Mr Carrato said investing in early childhood nutrition would bolster the performance of children in schools.
“Expanding the school milk programme into more counties will also increase milk demand, create job opportunities,” he added.
Mombasa County’s Education executive Tendai Lewa said 28,000 schoolchildren in the county are benefiting from the school milk programme.
He said the county started the milk programme for pupils from nursery to Standard Three in 2014, adding that it spends Sh120 million per year on it.
In Migori County, about 80,000 schoolchildren benefit from its milk programme. A similar programme is expected to kick off in Kilifi in January next year.
At least 15 other counties from across the country have shown an interest in adopting similar programmes.
