Government led school feeding programs in Ethiopia which will purchase food from local small holder farmers can help increase the income earned by farmers as well as enhancing the health and education of school age children said Demeke Mekonnen, Minister of Education at an international forum for school feeding experts.
The pilot program for the Home Grown School Feeding initiative has been launched in two districts of the Southern Region in partnership with the Partnership for Child Development (Imperial College London) and the World Food Program.
Ethiopia is seeking to improve the academic success of children through enhanced health and nutrition by creating a School Health and Nutrition taskforce said Demeke. The taskforce is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Health and Education.
The commitment to the school feeding program is encouraging according to Dr. Lesley Executive Director of the Partnership for Child Development speaking at the 14th Annual Global Child Nutrition Forum. The forum is co-sponsored by the Partnership for Child Development and the Global Child Nutrition Foundation with support from the World Food Program.The forum brought together more than 200 national, regional and international experts to discuss strategies, share ideas and to implement sustainable school feeding programs which can support the educational, agricultural and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: The Reporter
