The Brazilian government will present its experience with the National School Feeding Programme at the 2020 edition of the Global Child Nutrition Forum (GCNF), which is taking place online for the first time. The presentation will be led by Karine Santos, Coordinator of the Brazilian School Feeding Programme (PNAE), on Tuesday 3rd October on the panel called “School Feeding as a Tool to Fight Hunger”. Carmen Burbano, Director of WFP’s School Feeding Division, will also take part in the same panel. In addition to that, the Director of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger Brazil, Daniel Balaban, will speak at the closing ceremony on October 12th.
Every year, the Forum brings together those interested in school feeding and child nutrition programmes, including representatives from government offices, companies, international organizations, NGOs, academic institutions, and many others. In her presentation, Karine Santos will detail the structure if the Brazilian School Feeding Programme and showcase the e-PNAE mobile application, which allows families, school managers, nutritionists and local authorities to monitor and evaluate the school meals service. The app also shows data on programme funding, tips on healthy eating habits and interactive games. It also allows families to have direct contact with the nutritionist in charge at the chosen school, and with the local school meals council. The presentation will be made in Portuguese with English translations supplied by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).
This year, the event is divided into technical, country and regional sessions and the main objective is to explore the importance of school feeding in light of challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to discuss how these challenges are affecting countries’ ability to deliver food to school-aged children. The forum will also explore strategies for continuing school feeding programmes during and after the pandemic and will also provide an opportunity to keep the global school feeding network united.
How to register
Because it is taking place online, the Forum has adopted a “Pay What You Can” scheme. It is possible to access the event online for free or by making a donation to the Global Child Nutrition Foundation. Please visit this page to register: https://www.gcnf2020.org/registration/
About GCNF
The Global Child Nutrition Forum is a learning exchange and technical assistance conference held annually to support countries in the development and implementation of sustainable school feeding programmes. Since 1997, the annual Global Child Nutrition Forum has united leaders from countries around the world for five days of intensive training, technical assistance, and planning, all directed toward establishing country-operated sustainable school feeding programs. The WFP Centre of Excellence co-organised the event between 2013 and 2019.