Addis Ababa, September 16, 2025 (FMC) — The Rockefeller Foundation has urged African governments to step up their commitment to clean cooking in schools, stressing that such action is crucial to expanding sustainable school feeding programmes while protecting the environment.
The call came during the recently held Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2) in Addis Ababa.
The summit brought together African leaders, international organizations, and climate stakeholders to discuss strategies for climate resilience and sustainable development across the continent. It featured plenary sessions, policy dialogues, and sideline meetings exploring solutions for clean energy, environmental protection, and climate-smart interventions.
During ACS2, the Rockefeller Foundation actively participated in various sideline sessions, engaging with governments and partners to advance clean cooking, school feeding, and climate resilience initiatives.
Kagwiria Koome, Manager of the Food Initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation, was also a panelist in the sideline events, representing the Foundation and sharing expertise on clean cooking and sustainable school feeding.
In an exclusive interview with Fana Media Corporation (FMC) on the sidelines of ACS2, Koome said the Foundation is working with governments to design projects that can attract carbon and climate financing to fund the transition to clean cooking technologies.
“For the foundation, clean cooking is important because we are focused on increasing access to school meals for 100 million children,” she said. “While we increase access to school meals, we want to ensure that we do not destroy the environment.”
She explained that nearly 90 percent of schools in sub-Saharan Africa rely on biomass for cooking, a practice that causes severe deforestation. Koome noted that key challenges—such as financing and affordability—are being steadily resolved, with climate financing available, technologies now affordable, and local manufacturers able to produce them. Political will is also present, as demonstrated during global and continental forums like the Paris Declaration and ACS2.
Koome expressed optimism that upcoming policy dialogues will report tangible progress on clean cooking transitions in schools. She affirmed that the Rockefeller Foundation, together with its partners, stands ready to support governments with data collection, project structuring, and access to financing mechanisms.
“We need governments that are committed first to school meals and second to clean cooking,” she said. “Once that commitment is in place, the Rockefeller Foundation and other partners are willing to support the transition that benefits both children and the planet.”
In recent years, the Rockefeller Foundation has focused on supporting school feeding programmes across Africa and other regions, emphasizing both increased access to nutritious meals and environmentally sustainable practices. It has worked with governments, the World Food Programme, and other partners to scale school meal coverage, integrate climate-resilient procurement, and explore clean cooking solutions for school kitchens. Initiatives include supporting the launch of national school meals coalitions, investing in clean cooking delivery units, and promoting regenerative agriculture linked to school feeding.
The Foundation has also actively promoted the transition to clean cooking technologies, highlighting opportunities for carbon-finance and climate-funding mechanisms to support the shift from biomass fuels in schools. Its engagement at global forums such as COP29 and continental events like ACS2 illustrates its commitment to helping governments adopt policies that reduce deforestation while expanding school feeding programmes.
Additionally, the Foundation is advancing a “regenerative school meals” approach that connects school-meal programmes with regenerative agriculture, local sourcing, and climate-resilient food systems, aiming to reach millions of children with meals produced in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable way. These activities are among others the Foundation has undertaken in recent years to advance school feeding, clean cooking, and climate-smart food systems, it has been learned.