Plumpy'nut helps to keep things together during these emergency and recovery phases. It's a short-term solution with long-term benefits as it can save the smallest children from being damaged for life from malnutrition.Bruneau says Plumpy'nut is very much the miracle food as "we can really see the weight gain week after week." .
For school age children the key is getting them fed and back to class. School meals programs, when given enough support, accomplish this. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) "plans to feed 568,000 school children in 3,320 primary schools" beginning in November.
WFP relies on voluntary donations from the international community. They have enough funds to get Ivory Coast school meals programs started again. WFP has not run the program since October 2010, right before the conflict began after disputed elections.
But will there be enough support to sustain the school feeding? Will there be enough support to help Ivory Coast eventually have its own national school lunch program? As the U.S. and other governments make their foreign policy amid budget crunches, will food aid for Ivory Coast and other countries get left out?
These questions remain to be answered. To help Save the Children, visit their Ivory Coast Emergency fund page. For more about the UN World Food Programme visit their home page and their We Feedback page.
The UN World Food Programme plans to resume school feeding in the Ivory Coast. (WFP/Ramin Rafirasme)
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