A critical analysis of the impact of the Supplementary Feeding Programme (SFP) on learners affected by the El-Nino induced drought covering the period 2023 -2024 rain season: A case study of two rural primary schools in Zimbabwe
The motive of the study was to examine the impact of the implementation of the Supplementary Feeding Programme on rural primary school learners affected by the El-Nino induced drought covering the period 2023 -2024 rain season, in Zimbabwe. The study also explored key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Supplementary Feeding Programme (SFP), the constraints and possible approaches that enhance SFP for the benefit of rural primary school learners in Zimbabwe. The study involved two rural primary school cases. Descriptive data were generated using structured in-depth interview questions from a purposively selected sample of two (2) heads of schools, eight (8) senior teachers, eight (8) School Development Committee (SDC) members and ten (10) parents. Survey questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from a randomly selected sample of 70 junior class teachers. The major findings were that: the El-Nino induced drought caused learner withdrawal, high absenteeism, malnutrition and low academic performance; key stakeholders involved in the implementation of SFP were teachers, parents, school heads, the central government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs); the benefits of SFP included improved: nutrition among the learners, overall health, academic performance, opportunities for socialisation and community income; the impact of SFP include improved: nutrition, school attendance, performance, class participation and completion of school tasks on time. The study revealed that SFP was constrained by limited financial resources, logistical constraints, inappropriate infrastructure, cultural diversity and lack of school-based policy frameworks that regulated its implementation. and bureaucratic protocols. Further, the study established five approaches that enhance the implementation of SFP, which are community engagement, collaboration, pro-locally sourced food, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. Based on the study’s major findings, the Supplementary Feeding Programme implementation five star-model was developed, anchored on collaboration, community engagement, capacity building, pro-locally sourced food, monitoring and evaluation.
Key words: El-Nino drought; Learners; Malnutrition; Nutrition; Supplementary Feeding Programme .
