On Thursday October 13th the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil participated in the first edition of Forum on School Feeding and Healthy Habits, promoted by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education, through the Integral School Nutrition Programme.
The webinar highlighted the progress and challenges in school feeding, school gardens and the promotion of healthy eating habits that contribute to the attendance, permanence, and continuous learning of students in school, also involving the family and the community. The Forum functioned as an open space for learning and dialogue and took place within the framework of World Food Day, celebrated on October 16th.
The online event was attended by 1,200 actors at the national level, including members of the government, authorities from the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education, experts in food education, pedagogical advisors, school principals, and parents.
The Centre of Excellence was represented by Eliene Sousa, from the Centre’s Projects team, and Camila Alencar, from the Programme team, who introduced the Centre of Excellence and its objectives, focusing mainly on the thematic areas of school feeding and nutrition. “During the event, we presented new tools such as remote technical assistance through virtual exchanges and the Virtual Study Visit,” said Camila Alencar.
In the opportunity, the team also presented Nurture the Future, a South-South cooperation project to tackle the multiple burden of malnutrition in school-aged children, emphasizing the training and support materials developed for local authorities. The participants of the event were invited to read the Policy Brief “Childhood Obesity” produced by the Centre of Excellence, which is available in Portuguese and Spanish.