World Food Programme (WFP) has provided foodstuffs to 5,000 pre-primary and primary schoolchildren and their household members to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The foodstuffs include rice, fortified vegetable oil, and pulses.
Development Diaries understands that the government of Canada’s Fund for Local Initiative Programme (CFLI) supported WFP Liberia with $150,000 to carry out this project.
Up to 25 percent of children under five years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition in Maryland County, according to the 2020 Liberia Demographic and Health survey.
The situation is exacerbated by measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, including movement restrictions.
‘WFP is very grateful to the government and people of Canada for their support to the schoolchildren in Liberia’, WFP Representative and Country Director in Liberia, Karla Hershey, said.
‘This support will also raise awareness about the importance of improving girls’ access to education in the country and help to ensure that the next generation in Liberia reaches its full potential’.
It is understood that many families in Liberia put their children to work or keep them at home rather than send them to school.
WFP provides school feeding as a critical intervention for improving the enrolment and learning status of children. The take-home rations play a vital role of enabling the whole family to receive nutritious food support while encouraging their children’s attendance.
Source: Front Page Africa
Photo source: Front Page Africa
