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"id": 1198977,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1198977/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kakamega County, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Elsie Muhanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment as the Deputy Speaker and specifically, coming from the women caucus. Indeed, we are overjoyed. I want to thank the people of Kakamega for electing me tano tena overwhelmingly. I make a special dedication of this Motion to the child in Kakamega and Kenya as a whole, who did not get a meal today. I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, aware that school meals are an important safety net for vulnerable children from food insecure households and communities in Kenya; appreciating that school meals have multiple benefits such as increased school enrolments and attendants; significant and positive contribution to reducing hunger and improving nutritional intakes; noting that primary school completion rates have been found to be higher in schools that provide meals; thus school meals remain a core development intervention to support the country’s achievements in the education sector; recognising that some county governments have adopted direct and community-led initiatives for Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) school feeding programmes; concerned that the exercise is not supported by a clear policy and budgetary framework and it does not support children in primary and secondary schools who form the basic education ecosystem; cognizant of the fact that where school meal programmes have been initiated, it has been noted that they encounter different challenges that impede their effectiveness, including insufficient resources due to low budgetary allocation and budget cuts; lack of a school feeding policy; inadequate safe cooking and drinking water, drought and famine; poor food storage; a lengthy procurement process; insecurity and dilapidated infrastructure among others; this House, therefore, resolves that the Ministry of Education, through the relevant State department, immediately develops a school feeding policy to cover basic education pupils, and sustain the programme in order to ensure that children are maintained in schools for effective learning and improve their wellbeing. Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me begin by defining school feeding as the provision of food, meals, snacks or take-home incentives conditional upon school attendance to children, and their households through school-based programmes. The meals are either prepared at schools, in the community or delivered from centralised kitchens. Article 53(c) of the Constitution of Kenya states that every child has a right to basic nutrition, shelter and health care. Referring to the poverty Index of 2022, 17 per cent of Kenyan population lives below Kshs200 per day. This means that 8.9 million Kenyans live in extreme poverty. Kenya is ranked No. 86 out of 117 qualifying countries in the 2019 Global Hunger Index thus classifying the country’s situation as serious, and hence shows the level of real dire need. The World Food Programme (WFP) has shown that most people who are most vulnerable to food security live in the dry areas which cover 80 per cent of the country. Children are the demographic group that is most vulnerable to hunger because their growing bodies are more vulnerable. About 29 per cent of the children in rural areas and 20 per cent of those living in towns have stunted growth. The Coronavirus disease of 2019 did not make things easy. We have had efforts to have feeding programmes in Kenya since 1980s. We had the Maziwa ya Nyayo and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the Food for Education who partnered with some Members of Parliament like the Member for Dagoretti South. Because of the grave situation, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}