[{"bbox": [146, 147, 1066, 231], "category": "Table", "text": "<table><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>in target areas and that programmes will not have adverse impact on local markets.</td></tr></table>"}, {"bbox": [157, 234, 286, 260], "category": "Section-header", "text": "Assumptions"}, {"bbox": [157, 261, 1055, 313], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Government's continued and increased commitment to support investments in school health and nutrition, education and agriculture sectors."}, {"bbox": [157, 315, 972, 368], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Functional delivery of social services at the decentralised level (capacity and continued commitment for implementation at district level)."}, {"bbox": [157, 370, 999, 423], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Current COVID-19 pandemic and other health related shocks are adequately addressed by parallel interventions (COVID Response Plan)"}, {"bbox": [157, 425, 844, 451], "category": "List-item", "text": "* National coordination mechanisms in place are operational and effective."}, {"bbox": [157, 464, 1059, 730], "category": "Text", "text": "Lessons Learnt: Investments in early childhood development and at primary school age are linked to improved health and nutrition, higher cognitive development and better school achievement. This contributes both to stronger human capital development and to overall national development priorities. Research indicates that school meals have high returns on investment, with USD 1 invested in school meals yielding a USD 20 return to education (through human capital) and to the local economy (through procurement and employment). A 2021 cost-benefit analysis on improvement of quality primary education in Malawi identified limited access to school feeding as one of the factors contributing to poor education outcomes, and estimated that school feeding has a good benefit-cost ratio as it may contribute to additional 0.7 years of learning and 7% increase in lifetime earnings."}, {"bbox": [157, 742, 1058, 848], "category": "Text", "text": "School meals interventions in Malawi started in 1999 as an emergency response with WFP support. The pilot showed a direct relationship between education and good nutrition, with positive result in increased enrolment and attentiveness. Since then, coverage of school meals programmes in the country has grown and more lessons and evidence have been documented, as described below:"}, {"bbox": [157, 862, 1058, 995], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Pupils are attracted and retained by school meals programmes. Evidence from WFP's school meals programme in primary schools in Malawi has shown that it reduced absenteeism by 5% and dropout rates by 3%⁷, and increased attendance from 77% to 92%⁸. Similarly, information from the Nutrition and Access to Primary Education (NAPE) programme implemented by GIZ under Afikepo indicates increase in attendance rates in supported schools of 22%⁹."}, {"bbox": [157, 997, 1058, 1129], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Evidence in Malawi also suggests school feeding has a positive impact on literacy. An evaluation of WFP's school feeding programme found significant improvements, particularly among girls in Standard 4, in initial letter sound observation, listening and reading comprehension. In targeted schools, 54% more children were reading fluently above benchmark than non-targeted schools¹⁰."}, {"bbox": [157, 1131, 1058, 1264], "category": "List-item", "text": "* A 2018 evaluation found that school meals contributed to a reduction in health-related school absences by 11%¹¹. Additionally, school meals programmes have supported increased knowledge and awareness on nutrition and healthy dietary practices by learners and their families. Up to 77% of households reported changing their families' diets as they felt that diversified diets improve the health of their children, and 40% of farmers who sold nutritious"}, {"bbox": [146, 1363, 1080, 1409], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ FP (2019) Evaluation of the School Meals Programme in Malawi with financial support from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2016 to 2018."}, {"bbox": [146, 1410, 1080, 1457], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ WFP (2018) Final Evaluation of the School Meals Programme in Malawi with support from United States Department of Agriculture and the Governments of Brazil and the United Kingdom 2013 to 2015."}, {"bbox": [146, 1458, 681, 1482], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹ GIZ, Afikepo/NAPE 5th Annual Progress Report – Final Report (2021)."}, {"bbox": [146, 1483, 1080, 1529], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁰ WFP (2018). Final Evaluation of the School Meals Programme in Malawi with support from United States Department of Agriculture, and the Governments of Brazil and the United Kingdom - 2013 to 2015."}, {"bbox": [146, 1533, 1080, 1580], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹¹ WFP (2018). Final Evaluation of the School Meals Programme in Malawi with support from United States Department of Agriculture, and the Governments of Brazil and the United Kingdom - 2013 to 2015."}, {"bbox": [965, 1680, 1080, 1704], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 14 of 26"}]