On 17 and 18 September, Fortaleza hosted the 2nd Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition, the world’s largest event on the subject, which brought together around 80 officials from various countries around the world to discuss and expand school feeding programmes.
Among the authorities present at the opening ceremony were the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain; the Vice-President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin; Ministers Camilo Santana, of Education, and Wellington Dias, of Social Development and Fight against Hunger; the President of the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE), Fernanda Pacobahyba; the Governor of Ceará, Elmano Freitas, among others.
Brazilian and international authorities highlighted the strategic role of school feeding for health, education and development. “This Summit is a unique space where countries can exchange experiences, share good practices and, above all, find concrete solutions to implement and expand their national programmes,” said Daniel Balaban, Director of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil.
During the event, 19 governments announced new commitments to expand school feeding programmes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Today, around 466 million children receive school meals through national programmes — 80 million more than in 2020, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) global report.
The Summit also launched initiatives on sustainable financing, data production, and evidence-based guidance. The Coalition’s collective goal is to ensure that by 2030, every school-age child in the world has access to at least one healthy and nutritious meal per day.
Bilaterals
The event provided space for delegations to hold bilateral meetings, facilitating the exchange of experiences. Many countries expressed interest in learning about Brazil’s experience with school feeding or consolidating existing partnerships.
Among the countries are Uganda, Cuba, Somalia, Mauritania and the Central African Republic, which initiated dialogue, and the Republic of Congo, which presented the results of the Seeds for Tomorrow Project, an initiative of the Centre of Excellence, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Congo, the Government of Brazil, the WFP Republic of Congo and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), and financed by the IBAS Fund (India, Brazil and South Africa Fund for Poverty and Hunger Relief).
Coalition
Created in 2021, the School Meals Coalition is a union of countries and partners working together to accelerate and expand school meals programmes. Its goal is to ensure that every child has access to a healthy and nutritious meal at school by 2030.
The Coalition promotes the exchange of experiences and technical support, overcoming implementation challenges and strengthening evidence for decisions to expand the quality, scale and sustainability of school feeding. The Coalition currently has more than 100 member countries and over 140 partners.