A global commitment

ACROSS the world, governments incre­a­­singly recognise that the best investment a government can make is in its people, especially its children. When children are healthy, nourished and able to learn, they carry with them the promise of a stronger, more prosperous economical future.

This understanding has shaped a growing global movement to integrate education with social protection and nutrition systems. One example is the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched at the G20 Leaders’ Summit to accelerate progress towards ending hunger and poverty while reducing inequality. Within this framework, school meal programmes have emerged as a powerful policy instrument — improving access to education, strengthening nutrition outcomes and linking families to broader social support systems.

Pakistan joined the Alliance in Novem­ber 2024, signalling its commitment to integrated solutions that bring together education, nutrition and social protection.

Translating these global commitments into meaningful outcomes ultimately depends on action at the national and provincial levels.

School meal programmes have emerged as a powerful policy instrument.

In a small public classroom in Quetta, a child sits at a wooden desk, focusing on the blackboard. Development takes shape in moments like this: when a child feels nourished, safe and ready to learn.

For this child, and thousands like her, the government of Balochistan is investing in what matters most: students, teachers and schools where every child can thrive, and a meal to sustain their appetite for learning.

Nearly half of all Balochistan’s children (49 per cent) suffer from malnutrition, and 2.94 million children remain out of school, including 1.53m girls, creating a serious human capital gap.

Yet progress is underway.

Over the past few years, the provincial government has taken important steps to reverse this trend by reopening more than 3,200 previously closed schools, restoring access to education for over 94,000 children. The provincial budget for 2025-2026, which exceeds Rs1 trillion, reflects this commitment with a 25pc increase in education spending.

Experience also shows that investing in infrastructure alone is not enough. A child who arrives at school hungry struggles to concentrate, participate and retain lessons.

The school meals programme implemented jointly by the government of Balo­chistan and the World Food Programme in Quetta solves that problem. More than 20,500 primary schoolchildren now recei­­ve daily, nutritious meals. The education boost is already evident: school attendance rose from 68pc to 77pc between 2024 and 2025, accompanied by a 53pc increase in enrolment.

Investing in human capital also stren­gthens social cohesion. When children from different communities attend public schools, share meals and learn together, school meals serve not only as a critical safety net, but also as a strategic tool to foster contribution to peace and social cohesion, a place where trust grows, and communities become more connected.

Looking ahead, the provincial government plans to expand the programme across the province gradually. The experience in Balochistan is also contributing to national discussions on how school meal programmes can be designed, scaled and sustainably financed, including to strengthen market opportunities.

When des­ign­­ed to rely on lo­­cal smallholder farmers, school meal program­m­­es benefit local economies and support better-designed, sus­­tai­nable climate se­­­­­nsitive food syst­­ems.

Globally, school meal programmes are now recogni­s­­ed as strategic inv­estments that imp­rove learning outcomes, provide es­­sential nutrients, and promote hea­lthy eating habits. Today, 466m children benefit from such programmes worldwide, with up to 99pc of the costs covered by national governments and the World Food Prog­ramme providing technical assistance.

Pakistan has begun drawing on global experience to refine its own approach. Recently, government officials joined a two-week South-South Cooperation mission organised by Brazil, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and World Food Programme, enabling knowledge exchange on integrated social development models, including smallholder farmer support and home-grown school feeding systems.

As countries search for practical solutions to hunger, inequality and learning gaps, school meals demonstrate what is possible when global commitments translate into action in classrooms.

Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani is education minister, Balochistan.
Coco Ushiyama is country director and representative of the World Food Programme.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2026

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