Percent of children enrolled in primary school who received food through school meal programs (SDG 4.a.4)

Definition

The percent of children enrolled in primary school who received food through their schools (in the form of national or large-scale school meal programs) in the reference school year. This does not include out-of-school children. This information was gathered through the Global Survey of School Meal Programs, with surveys completed by government-appointed focal points who gathered information from official sources; in countries with multiple school meal programs in operation, this is inclusive of all programs.

Relevance

This captures the share of enrolled primary school students in the country who are the beneficiaries of national or large-scale school meal programs. Many programs are focused on food provision at the primary school level, with less priority given to reaching children at other school levels. This indicator has been selected as an official indicator of the Sustainable Development Goals under SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.