The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has congratulated the government of Bangladesh on joining the Global School Meals Coalition.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Farid Ahmed on the opening day of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome.

Since 2010, the government of Bangladesh has been investing in the national school feeding programme, with WFP as a key partner.

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By 2022, more than 3 million children in 104 sub-districts had been reached with fortified biscuits, and in some locations, hot meals.

Study shows that the programme resulted in a 4.2 percent increase in school enrolment and a 7.5 percent reduction in dropouts.

With Farid Ahmed signing the declaration of commitment, Bangladesh is now a part of the Global School Meals Coalition.

“Meals in school are  more than food to the children. It is a systemic solution to combat child hunger and nutrition, but it also supports the local economy through improving opportunities for small farmers and local entrepreneurs,” said Dr Momen.

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Building on the success of the past programmes, the new school feeding programme aims to reach 3.5 million students of 20,000 government primary schools over the next three years.

“In the next programme we are planning to shift from just fortified biscuits to a diversified food menu. It will include seasonal fruits, egg, bread and milk during a week. We will pilot hot meals in some poorer districts. Diversification will help us achieve nutritional outcomes,” added Foreign Minister Momen on the government’s plan for the new national school feeding programme.

“WFP is fully committed to continuing supporting the Government of Bangladesh to make school meals available to all targeted children, particularly those from poor and remote areas,” said Domenico Scalpelli, WFP Representative and Country Director in Bangladesh.

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“We congratulate the Government for joining the Global School Meals Coalition and investing in school meals to secure a brighter future for the children of Bangladesh,” he added.

The School Meals Coalition is an emerging initiative of governments and a wide range of partners to drive actions that can urgently re-establish, improve and scale up food and education systems, support pandemic recovery, and drive actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Currently, more than 80 countries are members of the coalition.

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