On August 28, the team from the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil participated in the technical validation workshop of Senegal’s National School Feeding Policy, held in Dakar.
The event brought together around 50 participants, including representatives from ministries, partners, and academia, to discuss the key elements of the policy and pathways for its implementation with tangible impact.
Discussions covered topics such as nutrition, local procurement, and sustainable financing, reinforcing intersectoral collaboration and social participation in the policy formulation process.
“Technical validation is an important milestone for Senegal, bringing together different sectors around a common goal and consolidating school feeding as a strategic policy for education, health, agriculture, and sustainable development,” emphasized Ana Clara Cathalat, Programme Officer at the Centre of Excellence, who attended the meeting.
The workshop marks a significant step forward in a process carried out throughout 2025, in close partnership between the Centre of Excellence, the Government of France, the WFP country office in Senegal, and the School Canteens Division of the Senegalese Ministry of Education, with collaboration from Brazil’s National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).
During the event, Bruno Valim Magalhães from the Centre of Excellence presented the governance structures of Brazil’s National School Feeding Programme (PNAE), which can serve as inspiration for Senegal and generate reflections adapted to the national context.
“PNAE has very robust governance structures, and sharing this experience is a strategy to encourage reflection on which mechanisms can be adapted and implemented in Senegal, always recognizing the country’s specificities and great potential,” he stated.
The technical validation also represents a strategic step toward Senegal’s commitments to the Global School Meals Coalition, ahead of the Summit to be held from September 18 to 20 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
“The progress achieved by Senegal throughout this process is highly significant and presenting it at the Summit strengthens the momentum within the country to continue mobilizing government, partners, and society around school feeding,” highlighted Lívia Martins, Programme Assistant at the Centre of Excellence, who also participated in the workshop.
At the end of the workshop, El Hadji Sec, Head of the School Canteens Division, expressed his gratitude to Brazil. “We thank the support of the Centre of Excellence and the Brazilian government, which was essential in this process and whose contributions are reflected in this policy,” he emphasized.
The policy will now be revised based on the points discussed and will proceed to institutional validation, moving forward toward implementation and the transformation of school feeding in the country.