The 6th African School Feeding Day will be celebrated virtually, under the theme “Harnessing Africa’s Traditional Knowledge and Food to Support Home – Grown School Feeding Programmes and Systems During COVID-19 Response and Beyond”
The 6th ADSF continental commemoration is hosted by the African Union Commission (AUC). The event will be guided by the Theme: “Harnessing Africa’s Traditional Knowledge and Food to Support Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes and Systems During COVID-19 Response and Beyond. ” Since 2016, the African Day of School Feeding (ADSF) continental commemoration has been a rallying point to reinforce and strengthen political will for school feeding on the continent. The ADSF has served as a convening space bringing together stakeholders across the public, private, civil society and multilateral sectors to raise awareness and knowledge on school feeding, take stock of progress made and galvanize political support for the adoption, implementation or sustainment of pro-school feeding policies programmes and resources.
This year’s continental celebration aims to maximise the convening moment of the ADSF by initiating a series of engagements and dialogues, including technical and political discussions that will help formulate and drive the implementation of concrete actions to address the immediate health, nutrition and education needs of children and promote local food systems and Africa’s rich culinary heritage.
THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE 6TH ADSF:
Take stock of the progress of ongoing initiatives at the continental, regional, and national levels in implementing HGSF programmes, among others by presenting the findings of the 2019-2020 biennial report.
Promote Africa’s diverse food culture through HGSF programmes that incorporate local and traditional food are agriculture-supportive and nutrition-sensitive.
Promote knowledge and good practices sharing, highlighting potential dividends and progress made with respect to HGSF on the continent.
Support member states to respond to the COVID 19 crisis by sharing lessons learned, best practices and guidance.
For further information contact:
Mich-Seth Owusu | Program Officer, Education | Department of Human Resource Science and technology, African Union Commission | Email: OwusuM@africa-union.org.
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (GMT + 3)
Link: www.edu-au.org/adsf
Read more: https://au.int/en/newsevents/20210225/6th-event-african-day-school-feeding
The Heads of State and Government of the AU, in a landmark decision during the 2016 AU Assembly, established the 1st of March as the African School Feeding Day.
This decision recognises school feeding as an important instrument for ensuring inclusive development, health, rural development, gender equality, and inclusion in education, especially for poor, socially marginalised and economically constrained communities.
This is in line with Agenda 2063 aspiration 1, Goal 1 which call for an a high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all by ending poverty, inequalities of income and opportunity; job creation, especially addressing youth unemployment; facing up to the challenges of rapid population growth and urbanization, improvement of habitats and access to basic necessities of life – water, sanitation, electricity; providing social security and protection.
