Nature of Community Participation in Ghana School Feeding Programme in the Bekwai Municipal Assembly

Abstract

In the Child Nutrition Act, it is stated that educational progress is an objective of Ghana School Feeding programs. In spite of this fact no serious attempt has ever been made to evaluate whether this objective has been met; the few evaluations that have been conducted lack scientific rigor as well as community participation. As a whole, the studies failed to provide a strong basis from which to make valid inferences regarding the long- term effects of the feeding program on school achievement and adaptation. It therefore becomes necessary to evaluate community participation in the entire programme. Based on this, the study sought to establish the nature of community participation in Ghana‟s school feeding programme. Based on the research objectives, literature was reviewed in related areas such as the concept of community participation and central thematic areas in relation to the phenomenon under study and ways of enhancing community participation in school feeding programme activities. The study employed explorative and descriptive survey design. Findings from the study indicate that community participation in the entire programme is very minimal as less than 5% of community participated in all activities of the school feeding programme. On this notion, it is recommended that capacity building for communities in the area of Planning, Implementing, Monitoring and Evaluation must be carried out with GSFP in order to train officials at all levels to take charge of the programme. This will go a long way to strengthen the programme as communities will take it as theirs.