Nutritious Meals Motivate Students - Official
The program, targeting 400,000 primary students in Nkhata Bay, Rumphi and Mzimba.
NKHATA BAY, Malawi - The World Food Program (WFP) is set to start a three-year program called Home Grown School Meal Program under Tsogolo Lathanzi phase 2, targeting 35 out of 201 public primary schools and 10 Early Childhood Development centers in Nkhata Bay, writes Magret Praise Kalua, MANA.
The program aims to provide nutritious and diverse meals to primary and pre-primary students throughout the school year, according to WFP Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Jason Nyirenda.
He spoke Friday during a program presentation to Nkhata Bay District Executive Committee members.
"This will motivate the children to stay in school and learn better whilst improving food security and boosting agriculture production and market opportunity for smallholder farmers," Nyirenda said.
The program will source food locally, mainly from smallholder farmers.
"This way we will maximise benefits for smallholder farmers by linking schools to local food production," he said.
Deputy Director for Food and Nutrition Silvia Mapanje said the project will improve not only learners' school attendance but also their nutritional status.
"The program will relieve acute hunger knowing fully that the country experiences some lean periods where food becomes a problem in the communities. So, the program will ensure that learners, at least, have a meal hence reducing malnutrition cases in Malawi," Mapanje said.
She highlighted the need for the government to support the program and lobby for more resources so it can extend to other schools.
The program, targeting 400,000 primary students in Nkhata Bay, Rumphi and Mzimba, is a collaboration between the Malawi government and WFP with funding from the European Union.