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A side-event as part of the 47th<\/sup> edition of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) brought\u00a0together practitioners\u00a0to discuss\u00a0what has been learned from implementing school feeding programmes around the world throughout the pandemic, and why they remain\u00a0essential\u00a0for\u00a0children\u2019s education,\u00a0health, nutrition, and communities.\u00a0The panel, moderated by Carmen Burbano, Director of the WFP School-based Programmes Division, took place on Monday 8th February and registered over 220 people in the audience.<\/p>\n The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) were also present. Paola Barbieri represented ABC at the event and highlighted that the pandemic scenario reinforced the importance of international cooperation. She also spoke of how school feeding programmes were affected and had to be readapted, encouraging joint work between governments and international organizations.<\/p>\n Bruno Costa e Silva, FNDE\u2019s National School Feeding Programme analyst, presented alarming data on the pandemic\u2019s socioeconomical effects in Brazil and emphasized the importance of home-grown school feeding as a social security mechanism. He also detailed the efforts of the Brazilian government to adapt school feeding legislation, a move to guarantee that the programme funds would continue to be used to purchase and distribute food to students, even when the schools are closed. He also cited the case of the Amazonas state, where it is possible to witness municipalities where school feeding is 100% supplied by smallholder farming.<\/p>\n Daniel Balaban, Director of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger Brazil, closed the event. In his remarks, he highlighted the severe impacts the Covid-19 pandemic had on children, with over 390 million of them missing out on school meals, leading to massive implications for students\u2019 learning, health, and nutrition. \u201cThe example of Brazil presented by FNDE showed us how the well-established institutional bases of a school feeding programme \u2013 from high-level management to the very end of implementation \u2013 can facilitate programme adaptation, even in times of adversity. This is an ode to school feeding\u2019s institutionalization and to everything we, as WFP, have been standing for over the years: the importance of creating solid capacities to regulate, manage, deliver, and monitor school feeding\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n He also commended governments, donors, and international agencies for the hard work in responding to this unprecedented challenge. He stressed that it will take a strong coalition to ensure access to meals is restored for children who need them the most, with the participation of the private sector, individuals, multilateral institutions, NGOs, and other sectors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Examples from Finland, Rwanda and USDA<\/p>\n The event also highlighted school feeding examples from around the world. Finland\u2019s Minister for\u00a0Development Cooperation and Global\u00a0Trade, Ville\u00a0Skinnari, highlighted the country\u2019s 70-year experience with school feeding, which is a key part of the Finish education system. \u201cWe know that the benefits of school meals go far beyond a plate of food\u201d, he said, stating also that the meals served in schools meet 1\/3 of pupils\u2019 daily requirements. In Finland, the programme is seen as an investment for the future, with high returns in terms of education, health, social protection, and agriculture.<\/p>\n Samuel Mulindwa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education of Rwanda, and Edith Heines, WFP Representative and Country Director, discussed the Government of Rwanda\u2019s recent commitment to scale its home-grown school feeding programme, while reaffirming\u00a0its\u00a0importance\u00a0and\u00a0highlighting the effects\u00a0the programme\u00a0has on communities and smallholder farmers specifically.\u00a0WFP started supporting school feeding programmes in Rwanda in 2002.<\/p>\n Lindsay Carter, Director of the McGovern-Dole programme (USDA) highlighted the institution\u2019s work to reduce hunger and increase literacy especially among girls through 47 projects in 30 countries. She also stressed that improved health and nutrition practices in schools are also part of school feeding programmes and the need for adaptation and strengthening and expanding programmes across the world.<\/p>\n A recording of the event will be available here soon.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A side-event as part of the 47th edition of…<\/p>\n