Sierra Leone Moves to Digitise Monitoring of School Feeding Programme With €2 Million EU Support
Alex Fefegula Harding Sierra Leone is moving to strengthen digital oversight of its National School Feeding Programme through a €2 million European Union-backed initiative aimed at improving monitoring, accountability and service delivery for more than one million children.
The two-year initiative was launched Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, during an inception meeting at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, bringing together government officials, development partners and education stakeholders.
The programme seeks to address weaknesses in existing monitoring arrangements, which the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) says depend heavily on manual reporting and fragmented data collection, limiting access to timely information about activities in schools.
Under the partnership, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will provide technical support to strengthen the Government’s ability to collect, analyse and apply reliable information when managing school feeding operations.
The initiative will introduce digital tools, including Open Data Kit and School Connect, to support real-time data collection, improve reporting and strengthen the accuracy of information used in programme decisions.
Speaking at the launch, Education Minister Conrad Sackey said the initiative would help the National School Feeding Secretariat move beyond simply recording activities to using evidence to assess performance and identify areas requiring improvement.
He said stronger monitoring and evaluation arrangements would help the Government identify gaps in programme delivery and improve accountability for resources allocated to schools and children.
Representing the European Union, Abdul Deen Sesay said the bloc’s €2 million contribution would support improvements in monitoring tools, institutional capacity, operational processes and information management.
WFP Representative and Country Director Andrew Odero said the initiative would establish common monitoring standards, strengthen field-level capacity and introduce mechanisms for community feedback.
The inception meeting also provided an opportunity for participating institutions to review the proposed monitoring and evaluation framework, establish their respective responsibilities and identify immediate implementation priorities.
Beyond introducing digital systems, the initiative is expected to strengthen the capacity of government institutions to interpret programme data and use it to guide decisions.
With the National School Feeding Programme reaching more than one million children, the partnership is intended to improve how authorities track implementation, identify shortcomings and assess whether resources are reaching their intended beneficiaries.