Home-Grown School Feeding: How to Integrate Systems (WFP-organized workshop)
By Isabelle De Geuser and Keitaro Isogai, on 7 June, 2016
Between May 30th and June 3rd, representatives from African governments, international organizations and NGOs gathered at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a workshop organized by the World Food Programme (WFP). The workshop discussed various cases and issues concerning national school feeding programs and the importance of multi-sectorial partnership for promoting the school feeding initiatives. This culminated in the kick-off to the first continental network of school feeding.
On the final day of the workshop, Dr. Yumiko Yokozeki, the Director of UNESCO-IICBA, gave a presentation underlining the positive impact of school feeding on education outcomes and the importance of teachers, women and girls in effectively implementing school feeding programs. During the presentation, Dr. Yokozeki shared her own experience, growing up hungry in postwar Japan, a time when food was scarce: “This is my personal conviction; children should not be worrying about food when they are studying at school.” Ms. Isabelle de Geuser and Mr. Keitaro Isogai, also from IICBA, participated in the subsequent question and answer session. In response to a question on the relationship between IICBA’s role and school feeding, Mr. Isogai pointed out that “teachers are key players in bridging the community and the school. Considering the multi-sectorial nature of school feeding, it is necessary that the program highlight the role of teachers.”
Provision of healthy meals to children is an integral part of the efforts to achieve a quality education for all while also ending hunger and malnutrition. Both goals are articulated in the Sustainable Development Goals and should be sought through collaboration of various actors. IICBA’s participation in the workshop reconfirmed its commitment to cooperating with WFP and other organizations in helping improve policies and practices of school feeding.
Further reading
WFP, African Union and governments discuss school feeding:
https://www.wfp.org/centre-of-excellence-hunger/blog/wfp-african-union-a...
Africa debates integration of school feeding and social protection:
https://www.wfp.org/centre-of-excellence-hunger/blog/africa-debates-inte...
Sustainable Development Goals:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
