Located in West Africa, Burkina Faso is classified as both a least-developed country, and a low-income and food-deficit country. More than 45% of the population lives below the poverty line. Very food-insecure, with high rates of both chronic and acute malnutrition (respectively 34.6% and 23.1%), the country is subject to recurrent drought, which results in cereal shortfall. The enrollment rate in primary school is one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007 Human Development Report ranked Burkina Faso 176th out of 177 countries.

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) assistance reaches an average of 450,000 beneficiaries per year in 25 provinces characterized by structural food insecurity, high rates of chronic malnutrition, low school enrollment, low literacy, and low attendance at health centers.

WFP school feeding provides meals to rural primary school children located in the arid Sahel Region of Burkina Faso. This region is the most food-insecure part of the country, with low yields and cereal production that sometimes covers only 50% of the population's needs. The climate is also a challenge, with a rainy season that lasts just three months and temperatures that range from 10° C in December to more than 43° C in March and April. School Gross Enrollment in the Sahel region is the lowest in the country (48.8% vs. 72.5%), with a high gender disparity, especially at the beginning of WFP’s school feeding program in 2003.

How many children are benefiting from WFP School Feeding programs within the country?

WFP’s school feeding program started in 2003/2004, with 234 schools and 30,000 pupils. During the current school year (2008/2009), this assistance will cover 86,187 pupils (40,823 are girls: 47.4%) in 590 schools across the four provinces of the Sahel Region (Oudalan, Seno, Soum and Yagha). Out of these, a total of 7,729 girls receive a monthly “take-home” ration to encourage regular attendance. In addition, 2,360 mothers receive dry rations for their participation in a program designed to sensitize women in support of girls’ school enrollment (the literacy rate for young women from 14 to 24 currently stands at 24.7 %), while about 1,200 women (cooks) also receive hot meals. In all, 89,747 people benefit from the program.

Discuss what effect the meals have on the children in terms of school attendance, performance, and nutrition.

Increase in Enrollment, Attendance Retention and Completion, and Reduction of Gender Disparity

For a family suffering from hunger and malnutrition, sending children to school is not assigned the same priority as the family’s food subsistence. School feeding programs encourage families to send children to school, especially in situations of food shortage and dire poverty. By improving nutrition and health status, children can attend school on a regular basis - improving attendance, retention and completion rates. Statistics show that the admission rate increased from 50.5% in 2003/4 - the first year of the program - to 69.7% in 2008, while the gross rate of enrollment also increased from 21.8% to 48.8% over the same period.