Ethiopia Targets 70% School-Feeding Coverage in 2026/27

What changed

Ethiopia has set a target of reaching 70% school-feeding coverage in the 2026/27 fiscal year.

President Taye Atske-Selassie presented the goal on October 6 in Addis Ababa during the inaugural joint session of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and the House of Federation. It sits alongside targets for 85% health-insurance coverage and 65% electricity access.

Why it matters

The school-feeding programme is being treated as a measure of service delivery, not just programme expansion. The government says wider coverage must come with better quality and more efficient use of time and resources.

That makes implementation the real test. The announcement sets a clear destination, but the current coverage, budget, timetable and monitoring system have not been stated. For now, the important shift is political: school meals are part of the federal government’s headline social-development priorities as the new parliamentary term begins.