Ghana School Feeding Program: A Retrospective Review

Since independence, Ghana has embraced formal education as a catalyst for its developmental agenda. As a developing country, it is confronted with myriads of challenges such as a—high rate of poverty, low school enrollment, gender disparity, environmental degradation, corruption, intermittent power supply, and a shortage of teachers, among others. As a measure to tackle these problems, especially low school enrollment, the government has put in place a number of social intervention programs which include free transportation for school children, scholarship schemes for students, free school uniforms, and capitation grant. Recently, the government introduced the school feeding program as a tool to reduce poverty, increase enrollment, and to create market for local foodstuffs. The program has increased enrollment tremendously in the pilot schools; however, its challenges and implementation pose a serious threat to its sustainability. This paper reviews the GSFP and puts forth some suggestions to help sustain the program.