75,000 children to receive education, hot meals and support in South Sudan

Tens of thousands of children in South Sudan’s least food secure regions will benefit from the largest joint-UN education in emergencies programme, implemented by UNICEF and WFP.

The project is supported by €24.4 million in funding, provided by the EU. This funding will provide 75,000 children with hot school meals, train 1,600 teachers, and provide psycho-social care for up to 40,000 children.

Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UNICEF’s South Sudan Representative, said:

“The daily school meals enable the children to focus on their learning and grow into healthy learners- enhancing educational outcomes. This combination of essential services provided to the children will be an important contribution to more resilient and peaceful communities.”

The project is expecting to support up to 150 schools across the four former states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap and Eastern Equatoria, running until January 2021.

One of the objectives is to establish school gardens in the hard-to-reach areas, which will not only educate students on farming practices, but also supplement school meals with fresh produce.

Ronald Sibanda, WFP’s Acting Country Director in South Sudan, said:

“Every day, countless children across the country turn up for school on an empty stomach. Many simply do not go, as their families need them to help with the cattle, in the fields or around the house. For all of them, food at school every day makes the difference. It means better nutrition and health, but also increased access to and achievement in education as well as a strong incentive for parents not only to send children to school but also to keep them there.

Join us for the 11th Annual AIDF Global Summit in Washington D.C, USA on 4-5 September 2019 to discuss infrastructure and food security.

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Photo: UN Photo/JC McIlwaine