HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

WFP to expand food aid to schools in five more dists

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 23: The UN-World Food Programme (WFP) is to expand its food assistance to primary schools in five more districts from the current academic year.

The districts selected for the expansion of the programme are Rasuwa and Nuwakot from Bagmati zone, Makawanpur from Narayani, Ramechhap from Janakpur and Udauyapur from Sagarmatha zone.

These districts are an addition to 16 others – mostly in Far and Mid Western hills - where WFP is implementing school-feeding programme since 1996 in collaboration with the Primary School Nutritious Food Project (PSNFP) of the Ministry of Education and Sports. The programme aims at providing opportunities for primary education to the children of poor, socially deprived and food deficit families in the rural areas of the country.

The WFP is to provide US$ 5.8 million worth of food for this academic year for the expanded programme in the new districts. Under the programme, students of public primary and lower secondary schools will receive a daily ration of mid-day meal made of fortified blended food. In addition, the programme has also made provisions for a monthly take-home ration of oil to mothers sending their daughters to schools. De-worming for all primary and lower secondary school children receiving mid-day food at schools is another component of the programme.

The WFP food assistance to primary schools, with the annual budget of US$ 4.3 million, now covers 250,000 children under the programme. Of the total annual budget, the WFP assistance amounts to approximately US$ 3.5 million.

"The WFP scheme has assisted the government to fulfil the aspirations of the citizens," Education Secretary Lava K. Devkota told the inaugural ceremony of a two-day workshop on Programme Implementation Modality of Global Food for Education Initiative here this morning.

Devkota said WFP should come up with innovative models to make the programme more successful, adding the workshop would be instrumental in identifying the shortcomings and refocusing the assistance scheme.

He assured the lessons learnt and weaknesses observed during the implementation of school feeding programme in other districts would be rectified for better and improved implementation of the programme in new districts.

National Planning Commission Member Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel urged WFP to ensure quality education to the children together with the provisions for nutritious mid-day food.

WFP Representative for Nepal Douglas C. Coutts stressed that the WFP food assistance to primary schools could be considered successful only if the need for good quality, practical and accessible education could be guaranteed to all children of food insecure and disadvantaged living in the rural areas.

The Deputy Country Director of WFP John Prout highlighted on the objectives of the workshop and Haribole Khanal, Programme Director of PSNFP welcomed the participants.

The workshop organised jointly by the PSNFP and WFP is to thoroughly analyse strengths and weaknesses observed during the implementation of the current school feeding programme and recommend implement measures for improved performances in newly introduced districts.

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