By: Staff Writer
March 1, 2024
The World Food Programme said that school feeding programmes in the region feed children with as little as $10 per year. ‘
The WFP, in’ the recent report, “State of School Feeding in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2022,” said: Inequalities between countries with more and fewer resources are stark, with the annual cost of school feeding per child is as low as US$10 in low-income countries in the region, whereas in high-income countries in the region, the annual cost per child is estimated at US$293. Coverage ranges from 30 to 100 percent across the countries in the region.
“In the region, most national school feeding programs are universal by design, but in practice do not reach full coverage. “
Coverage was calculated by the WFP for twenty countries by dividing the number of children reported to receive school meals in primary schools, by the number of children enrolled in primary schools as reported by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in 2021. “Eight out of twenty countries (40 percent) in the region have one hundred percent coverage, compared to four (20 percent) with coverage between seventy and 99 percent, four (20 percent) with coverage between 50 and 69 percent, and four (20 percent) with coverage under 50 percent,” the report noted.
The report also said: “Quality, integrated programming is urgently needed. The prevalence and coexistence of undernutrition, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and food insecurity in the region requires adequate investment, evidence and programme learning on what works to support healthy nutrition for schoolchildren.
It continued, “Adequate investment is needed also in local food systems, in all their diversity. Few school meals programmes in the region actively aim to support Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, by including cultural practices, culinary traditions, and preservation of Indigenous knowledge in programming, purchasing foods from Indigenous farmers, and ensuring leadership of Indigenous authorities and participation of communities.
“Select programmes are innovating to embrace the benefits of an intercultural approach, such as Colombia’s school feeding programme for Indigenous Peoples, which involves Indigenous and traditional authorities in decision-making and promotes local production and purchasing. Brazil’s National School Feeding Programme implemented guidelines to meet the socio-economic vulnerabilities and cultural specificities of Indigenous Peoples, having a positive effect on local economies and reducing environmental costs. Yet, most programmes in the region have yet to reflect the diverse needs and aspirations of Indigenous communities and interculturalism.
“For school meals to deliver on their potential, countries will need to strengthen institutional and regulatory frameworks, address the gender gap, mobilize adequate resources, and ensure multisectoral approaches, at a minimum. Programmes can improve by changing over to more agile and accountable management systems, monitoring and evaluating to improve programme quality, and innovating and digitalizing.”