Rural schoolchildren set to have more nutritious lunches

The Chinese government is providing complementary food support to the government’s National School Meals Programme.
China is supporting the Lao government’s goal to reduce malnutrition by topping up the lunches of 132,450 children in over 1,400 primary schools with rations of additional rice and canned fish.

Officials launch a Chinese-backed food assistance project in Vientiane on Tuesday.

China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund will donate about 930 tons of rice and 120 tons of canned fish.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will help the Ministry of Education and Sports to solidify the National School Meals Programme in 31 districts and eight provinces during the upcoming semester.
The Ministry of Education and Sports, WFP, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency on Tuesday signed off on a new intervention in Vientiane.
The national programme, incubated with WFP’s support in 2010, has since expanded its coverage from 56 schools in one province to over 1,700 schools in 12 provinces as of 2022.
This project is among the first batch of projects funded by the Chinese government’s newly upgraded Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, under the Global Development Initiative.
Providing school meals has globally proven instrumental in ensuring equal access to education, as well as good health and nutrition for schoolchildren.
In Laos, programmes target children in rural areas who face challenges in food security, poverty, and education, thereby helping to fill gaps in human capital development.
With this first donation from the Chinese government, the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports, the Chinese Embassy in Laos, and the World Food Programme look forward to enhancing their partnership with China to support the Lao people.
Speaking at the launch of the food assistance project on Tuesday, Minister of Education and Sports, Associate Prof. Dr Phout Simmalavong, said “The food contribution from the government and people of China will help to improve nutrition and fill gaps in students’ lunches.”
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy to Laos, Mr Xiang Fangqiang, said “The project will elevate international exchanges and cooperation to a new level and inject new impetus to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda, building a Laos-China community with a shared future and a global community for development with a shared future.”
WFP Country Director and Representative, Jan Delbaere, said “This food assistance project constitutes part of WFP’s response to the socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global food crisis in Laos.”
“At the same time, the Chinese government is helping us achieve our goal to ensure greater resilience and sustainability of the National School Meals Programme.”

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update November 24, 2022)