Sri Lanka's national school-meal programme now covers more than 1.5 million students in 8,990 schools, according to Government figures.
The Government has allocated Rs.33.6 billion to the School Nutrition Programme for 2026.
Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya announced the figures while addressing Sri Lanka's first National School Nutrition Conference, held in Colombo on October 2.
The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education.
The Government says it intends to develop the programme beyond the provision of school meals into a broader initiative supporting children's health and the local economy.
The conference brought together stakeholders involved in school nutrition to discuss expansion of the programme, its sustainability, future measures and relevant research.
The Prime Minister said that for many children the school meal represents one of the most reliable nutritious meals available to them during the day.
The Government has also linked the programme to wider efforts addressing child nutrition and longer-term health challenges.
However, the figures announced concern the scale of the programme and the Government's fiscal allocation.
They should not be interpreted as evidence that a particular improvement in children's nutritional status has already occurred unless supported by separate outcome data.
The Rs.33.6 billion figure is the Government's 2026 allocation for the programme, while the reported reach is more than 1.5 million students across 8,990 schools.
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