AfDB Launches $50M Fund to Tackle Hunger and Malnutrition Among African School Children
ABIDJAN/Ivory Coast: The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the establishment of the End School-Age Hunger Fund (ESAH) to combat hunger and malnutrition among school-age children across Africa.
Approved on March 20, the fund aims to strengthen school meal programs by expanding existing initiatives and creating new ones, ensuring more children have access to nutritious food while attending school. The initiative is also designed to stimulate rural economies by boosting agricultural productivity.
The ESAH Fund will operate in partnership with the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the AfDB Group. The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) has already committed $50 million to establish the fund and has pledged an additional $50 million once the AfDB makes its initial contribution. The bank is also engaging other philanthropic organizations, including the Aliko Dangote Foundation, to broaden the fund’s donor base.
The fund will directly support school feeding programs across Africa, providing nutritious meals while promoting small and medium-sized enterprises involved in food production and distribution. Additionally, it will offer technical assistance to governments, encouraging them to prioritize school meal programs as a critical tool for improving education, social protection, and economic development.
“The End School-Age Hunger Fund will work to secure a five-year commitment from targeted countries, which aligns with the standard implementation period for the Bank’s investment projects,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, AfDB’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development. “This timeframe will provide a solid proof of concept to sustain the initiative beyond the initial funding phase.”
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organization dedicated to improving children’s lives, has raised over $2.4 billion since 2004, with its endowment growing to $6 billion by 2020. This substantial resource pool underscores its potential to drive large-scale initiatives aimed at eradicating hunger and malnutrition among Africa’s schoolchildren.
