The Nexus Approach and Its Impact on Educational Performance in Ethiopia

In this blog post, which is part of NORRAG’s Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus blog series, Shirega Minuye reports on Ethiopia’s Nexus Approach, which offers a viable strategy for enhancing educational performance by integrating education with complementary sectors such as nutrition, health, water, sanitation, and social protection. He highlights school feeding programmes, which were recognised by African Union Heads of State as a key investment to boost education, nutrition, and local agricultural economies during the 26th AU Summit in 2016, when they adopted the Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) strategy (Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.589 (XXVI) §13-17). 

Ethiopia’s education sector has long grappled with systemic challenges that extend beyond the classroom. Persistent issues such as malnutrition, poor health, water insecurity, and economic vulnerability continue to undermine educational progress, particularly in marginalized communities. In response, Ethiopia has adopted the Nexus Approach, which integrates education with complementary sectors such as nutrition, health, water, sanitation, and social protection. This intersectoral framework is premised on the understanding that educational outcomes are inextricably linked to broader human development factors. The approach has been formally institutionalized under the Seqota Declaration, a flagship initiative launched in 2015 by the Federal Ministry of Health to end child undernutrition by 2030 through coordinated multisectoral action. 

A key manifestation of the Nexus Approach in Ethiopia is the expansion of nutrition-sensitive school feeding programs (SFPs). These programs are collaboratively implemented by stakeholders in education, health, agriculture, and social protection. Evidence from various regions in Ethiopia points to significant educational benefits tied to these interventions. For instance, a prospective cohort study conducted in Sidama Zone revealed that students participating in school feeding missed significantly fewer school days—4.0 days per year on average—compared to 9.3 days among non-beneficiaries. Moreover, school feeding beneficiaries exhibited slightly higher academic scores and were six times less likely to drop out (Desalegn et al., 2023). 

In urban contexts, such as Addis Ababa, school feeding programs have shown even more pronounced educational impacts. A study involving 322 adolescents found that participants in the school feeding initiative had significantly higher grade point averages (GPA) than their peers, with an adjusted increase of 2.32 points (95% CI: 1.47–3.17) after accounting for socio-demographic and health-related variables (Mohammed et al., 2023). These findings underscore the role of adequate nutrition in supporting cognitive development and academic performance. 

Beyond academic achievement, school feeding programs have positively influenced attendance, retention, and classroom behavior. A large-scale longitudinal study found that attendance improved significantly following the introduction of school feeding, with moderate effect sizes in academic scores for both boys (η² = 0.023) and girls (η² = 0.040) (Destaw et al., 2022). Qualitative interviews conducted with students, teachers, and administrators confirmed that reduced hunger in classrooms led to improved concentration, fewer behavioral issues, and higher student engagement. 

Despite these achievements, several operational and structural challenges limit the full potential of the Nexus Approach. A qualitative study conducted in Addis Ababa highlighted ongoing issues such as inadequate kitchen infrastructure, undertrained cooking staff, and rising food costs (Tamiru et al., 2024). These issues affect the consistency and nutritional quality of meals provided, which can, in turn, influence the effectiveness of the program. Moreover, the fragmented monitoring systems across sectors—where health, education, and nutrition data are tracked independently—hinder efforts to evaluate integrated impacts on learning outcomes (Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, 2025). 

Recommendations

To enhance the transformative potential of the Nexus Approach, it is crucial to institutionalize cross-sector collaboration and build the capacity for integrated service delivery at both national and sub-national levels. The following recommendations offer strategic pathways to improve education performance through a strengthened Nexus framework: 

Institutionalize cross-sector governance and shared monitoring systems 

Establish formal coordination platforms at federal, regional, and district levels involving education, health, nutrition, and WASH sectors. Develop and adopt integrated indicators that reflect shared outcomes, such as the impact of nutrition on school attendance and learning. 

Expand and standardize nutrition-sensitive school feeding programs 

Scale up school feeding in food-insecure districts, ensuring dietary diversity and sourcing from local agriculture. Create performance-linked monitoring systems that assess both nutrition and educational indicators to measure program efficacy. 

Invest in local implementation capacity and infrastructure 

Strengthen physical infrastructure (e.g., kitchens, storage), human resources (e.g., cooks and local coordinators), and supply chain logistics. Provide capacity building for district-level officials in planning, data collection, and nexus-based decision-making. 

Conclusion

The Nexus Approach in Ethiopia offers a viable strategy for enhancing educational performance by addressing the root causes of poor learning outcomes—malnutrition, health deficits, and poverty. Empirical evidence demonstrates that integrated interventions, particularly nutrition-sensitive school feeding programs, improve attendance, reduce dropout, and raise academic performance. However, to fully realize the promise of this approach, Ethiopia must address implementation bottlenecks, enhance cross-sector coordination, monitoring and data sharing, and strengthen local capacity. By embedding education within a broader development framework, the Nexus Approach paves the way for more equitable, resilient, and sustainable learning environments across Ethiopia. 

The Author

Shirega Minuye is an Ethiopian economist who has served over 25 years in consultancy, research and training

Featured Image © UNICEF Ethiopia/2013/Ose