WFP in Somalia is currently providing food assistance to 93,000 primary school children, 37% of whom are girls, in 373 schools. Most of the target schools are located in the most food insecure areas in Somalia.
Discuss what effect the meals have on the children in terms of school attendance, performance, and nutrition.
Nearly 3.2 million people in Somalia (over 40% of the entire population) need food assistance. Recurring droughts, prolonged conflicts, structural poverty, continuous displacements, and, above all, lack of a central government for nearly 20 years have seriously hampered opportunities for children in Somalia to enroll in, attend, and complete primary school.
To reduce the impact of these problems, WFP Somalia began a school feeding program in 2003. Since then, the number of children benefiting from the program has grown significantly. In 2008, the number of children benefiting from the WFP school feeding program more than doubled from 2007. The agency carried out a baseline survey in 2008 to establish a school feeding databank. The information helps local administrations to see how they can be effective in achieving universal primary education and meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of education for all.
Currently the project targets 60 rural and semi-rural, food-insecure districts in Somalia. 50% of the districts are in the Northwest, 30% in the Northeast and 20% in Southcentral Somalia.
In 2008, attendance in WFP-assisted primary schools in Somalia was 97%, compared to attendance at primary schools as a whole, which was 92%. A recent survey conducted by WFP shows that 98% of teachers believe that children’s attentiveness in class increased due to the school feeding program. 75% believe that violence by children has decreased.
Both boys and girls receive food twice a day. They receive porridge in the morning and an early afternoon lunch. The meals are made with rice, legumes, corn-soya blend (CSB), vegetable oil, and sugar to ensure that the nutritional needs of the children are being met. These meals provide the children with 927 Kcal, nearly half of the daily caloric needs of a 6-14 year child.
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