National School Meal Programme receives aid from World Food Programme and the Australian Govt.
View(s):The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are providing US$ 400,000 (LKR 74 million) to the Education Ministry for the National School Meal Programme, which provides meals for 80,000 primary school children.
The students will receive one month’s worth of food rations to help them and their families cope with school closures due to COVID-19.
The contribution is reflective of the long-standing partnership between the WFP and the Sri Lankan Government, and the WFP’s continued support for the country’s flagship National School Meal Programme since 2003, the WFP said.
The funding will enable the Education Ministry to begin the first phase of the take-home ration programme, while further resources are mobilised by the Ministry to expand the programme.
“The generous funding contribution from the Australian Government is very timely,” said WFP Country Director in Sri Lanka Brenda Barton. “Already, 40 percent of all primary school-aged children are too thin. For many children, the meal they get in school is often the only meal they will get in a day. Take-home food rations will be key to help safeguard children’s health and nutrition during this difficult time when the country is battling COVID,” she said.
Distribution will start later this month to children at schools identified by the Ministry in the Central, Uva, Northern and Eastern Provinces. After this initial phase, the take-home rations will subsequently be extended by the Ministry to all schools covered by the National School Meal Programme.
“The Government’s decision to close schools within 48 hours of Sri Lanka’s first COVID-19 case, was integral in preventing the spread of the virus” said the Education and Sports Minister Dullas Alahapperuma.
“We recognise the importance of sustaining the National School Meal Programme amidst school closures. We are thankful to the WFP and the Australian Government for providing us with funds to supply take-home rations to children covered by the School Meal Programme,” the Minister added.