THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the creation of a major new fund to combat hunger and malnutrition among school-age children across Africa. Known as the End School-Age Hunger Fund (ESAH), the initiative is designed to scale up school meal programmes, improve child nutrition, and strengthen rural economies.
The AfDB’s Board of Directors gave the green light to the Fund on March 20 2025, with the goal of expanding both existing and new school feeding schemes in targeted African nations. By providing children with regular, nutritious meals at school, the programme also hopes to drive improvements in education outcomes and support local agriculture.
‘The End School-Age Hunger Fund will work to secure a five-year commitment from the targeted countries, which is the standard implementation period for the Bank’s investment projects,’ said Dr Beth Dunford, AfDB Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
Backing from major global philanthropy
A key early backer of the Fund is the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), which has pledged $50 million to launch the initiative. The commitment was first outlined in a letter of intent signed in September 2024, witnessed by King Letsie III of Lesotho, the African Union’s Nutrition Champion.
CIFF has also indicated its readiness to double its contribution to $100 million, once the Bank finalises its own investment. The Foundation, known as the world’s largest philanthropy focused on children’s welfare, is also helping the AfDB leverage wider donor support.
To that end, the Bank is actively engaging other philanthropic groups—including the Aliko Dangote Foundation—to build a strong and sustainable donor base for the ESAH Fund.
Supporting school meals and local business
The End School-Age Hunger Fund will provide financial and technical support for school meal programmes across the continent. But its scope goes further—it will also promote small and medium-sized enterprises that deliver services linked to school feeding, such as local food production and supply chains.
The goal is to create a self-reinforcing ecosystem, where child nutrition improves alongside economic activity in rural areas. Governments will receive support to develop long-term national strategies, ensuring that school meals become a key pillar of their education and social protection systems.
Where necessary, the Fund will also offer technical assistance to help countries plan, implement and sustain these programmes.
Building a foundation for long-term impact
The Fund will operate under the umbrella of the African Development Fund, the concessional financing arm of the AfDB Group. Its structure is intended to provide a clear framework for implementation, ensuring accountability, results, and scalability.
With school feeding now recognised as a crucial tool for reducing inequality and promoting development, the ESAH Fund is seen as a game-changing intervention—particularly for low-income countries struggling with food insecurity and education access.
Since 2004, CIFF has raised more than $2.4bn in donations, and by 2020 its endowment had grown to $6bn—a testament to its capacity to mobilise resources for impactful child-focused initiatives.
The AfDB hopes this partnership will set the tone for a new wave of collaborative investment in child nutrition across the continent.
