Community School-Based ECD Intervention – School Meals Leading to Improved Learning Outcomes for Young Children in Malawi

• In Event: Ensure Positive Early Childhood Development and Education – Evidence from Home-, Community- and School-Based ECD Interventions

Proposal

In Malawi, poor access to and quality of ECD/E services contribute to low enrollment, with only 34% of children aged 3-4 enrolled in ECD programs in 2020 (Malawi National Statistical Office, 2021). Facilitators at community-based ECD centers also lack training and ongoing coaching support from the government (Government of Malawi, 2024). A student’s academic performance depends on the development of cognitive abilities, including working memory, attentiveness, and reasoning/problem-solving (Sternberger et al, 2008). However, in Malawi, 35.5% of the children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition, with 39% of the boys and 32% of the girls being stunted (National Statistical Office, 2021). As a result, only 59% of children aged 3-4 are considered developmentally on track in physical, social-emotional, and learning domains. Only 17% of these children meet milestones in literacy and numeracy (Ibid). This presentation will discuss how early childhood development and education (ECD/E) programming in Malawi that integrates early learning, health and nutrition, and support to young mothers seeks to improve learning outcomes and attentiveness among children. In partnership with the Government of Malawi, the programs provide training and mentoring to enhance the skills of ECD/E facilitators and teachers, school feeding, parenting education to improve household health, hygiene, and nutrition practices, and community engagement to strengthen awareness and support for ECD/E. These programs are also seeking to mitigate the impact of malnutrition through protein-rich school meals and nutritional awareness among parents. Evaluation results show that students whose diet is more diversified had near-significantly higher scores in reading assessments.

Author

• Limbani Boy Chipembere, CARE Malawi