Completion of the food for education partnership

The Italian-Egyptian Debt for Development Swap
Programme and the World Food Programme (WFP) have
today successfully completed their “Food for Education”
initiative to reduce vulnerability to hunger and enhance
nutrition and education.
The five-year project, launched in 2009 in the governorates
of Fayoum, Menia and Beni Suef, provided children with
daily, nutritious snacks at school that helped increase the
concentration level of students and provided 25 percent of
their daily nutritional needs. The project also encouraged
parents to enrol their children, especially girls, in schools,
by providing an incentive in the form of 10kg of rice and
other commodities as a monthly take- home ration to the
families of children regularly attending school.
"Italy has been supporting school feeding efforts in Egypt for
the last 10 years, with a contribution amounting to
approximately US$15 million under the Italian - Egyptian
Debt for Development Swap Programmes. School Feeding
provides both educational and health benefits to the most
vulnerable children in Egypt," said H.E. Maurizio Massari,
Ambassador of Italy to Egypt. "Enrollment rates increase,
absenteeism decreases and food security at the household
level improves through school feeding," added Massari.
Teachers, children and parents were also part of various
nutritional educational activities, another aspect to the joint
project. A notable outcome of the Food For Education
initiative is the development of a national preschool
nutrition education curriculum and a teachers' training
programme that have been adopted by the Ministry of
Education.
"WFP supports the Government of Egypt in its efforts to
improve access and quality of education and in the
provision of much-needed safety nets for the most
vulnerable populations.
Community schools are particularly important in attracting
children, especially girls, into the education system.
Although the project is closing, these children will continue
to receive the same support from the government and from
WFP through alternative funding sources," explained Lubna
Alaman, WFP Representative and Country Director in Egypt.
"This programme fits within the wider action promoted by
the Italian Development Cooperation in the food and
nutrition sector, addressing livelihood-related issues
through an integrated strategy that aligns the expertise and
the technical assistance provided by the Government of
Italy and highly experienced international organizations -
such as the WFP - to the priorities, strategies and
guidelines set by the Government of Egypt," added Massari.