The African nation of Guinea has seen increasing poverty rates in recent years. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reports that “the country's Forest region has long been host to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone,” which puts a big strain on Guinea’s resources. Guinea is working to provide basic education for all its citizens as a means of combating poverty. The World Food Programme is helping by providing school meals to children. In the following interview with Abdou Dieng, WFP country director in Guinea, we will look at how crucial school feeding is toward breaking the cycle of poverty.
How many children are benefiting from the WFP School Feeding Programs within the country?
WFP Guinea started its school feeding program (SFP) in 2002, initially targeting 54,200 beneficiaries. Since then the program has grown to the level of 213,573 pupils in the 2007/2008 school year. With positive results noted in primary schools assisted through the school feeding program, WFP extended its assistance to additional schools in project areas. The program's popularity has attracted a greater number of children overall and this seems likely to continue. The assistance is provided for 1,253 schools in three regions: Forest Guinea, Upper and Middle Guinea. Primary school students receive one daily hot meal at noon each day school is in session.
Discuss what effect the meals have on the children in terms of school attendance, performance, and nutrition.
Since its inception, WFP Guinea’s school feeding program has demonstrated great success in increasing school enrollment and attendance rates, especially among female students. Follow-up surveys to the WFP School Feeding Baseline Survey have indicated that girls’ enrollment rates have increased by as much as 12% over the period 2003-2005. Over the same period, enrollment increased from 77,323 to 85,885 for boys and from 57,871 to 67,910 for girls in existing WFP-assisted schools.
Female students in grade 6 with over 80% attendance rates are eligible to receive a take-home ration of vegetable oil each trimester. Take-home rations for girls encourage parents to keep their daughters in school, leading to lower dropout rates. Access to basic education, especially for girls, was promoted in schools targeted by the school feeding program.
By providing school meals at noon, students have an intake of 729 calories, enhancing their ability to retain information. Furthermore, hot meals help to reduce absenteeism. In the course of monitoring visits, parents and teachers reported that pupils no longer leave school in the afternoon and absenteeism due to illness has been drastically reduced.
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