School feeding project extends support for primary schools

Some 63,000 schoolchildren are set to benefit from a school feeding project to enhance learning, support access to education, and promote health and nutrition in schools.
The project is taking place from 2020-2025 with the cost of 232 billion kip (US$25 million) being funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
It will be implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP) to Laos and the Ministry of Education and Sports.
The ministry and WFP have agreed to continue their cooperation on providing school lunches, supporting 63,000 school children around the country with a daily healthy plate of food and a variety of related activities.

The Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Sengdeuane Lachanthaboune, on Tuesday signed an agreement with WFP Country Director and Representative, Mr Jan Delbaere, on continuing WFP’s support to the government for providing lunches for primary school students. The US Ambassador to Laos, Dr Peter Haymond, attended ceremony.
Mrs Sengdeuane said “A cost benefit analysis of WFP’s school feeding programme conducted in 2018 showed that school lunches are an excellent investment. For every US$1 spent, the return is US$6. Not only has Laos seen an average increase of 14 percent school enrollment over the last 10 years, children receiving school meals are also spending one year longer at school compared to their peers.”
The success of the past years has informed the award of this new grant from the United States, expanding the support to priority target districts in 12 provinces where school lunches have not previously been provided.
Until the end of the programme in 2025, WFP will work on a coordinated transition into the National School Meals Programme.
In this new stage of support, WFP is partnering with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to support the ministry in implementing a comprehensive package of school health and nutrition activities.
Mr Delbaere said “Our overall goal at WFP is to ensure that child malnutrition numbers decrease. By providing healthy food at primary schools, we are supporting the government’s targets on access to nutritious food and primary education for children from vulnerable households.”
According to WFP, the United States Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole programme is renewing its support to WFP’s school meals programme which it has funded since 2008, with contributions totalling more than US$60 million.
Children receive a daily nutritious meal prepared with rice, lentils and vegetable oil donated by US communities and enrich the meals with eggs, vegetables and condiments.
Produce from school gardens, small livestock activities and fishponds, which have been established through collaboration between the government and WFP, add further colour to school meals.
The support also encompasses literacy activities, installation of school water supplies, and provision of handwashing stations.

By Keoviengkhone Bounviseth
(Latest Update February 10, 2021)