By Robert Dixon
(LINA)-The World Food Programmed (WFP), and the Ministry of Education and partners on Friday, celebrated Africa Day of School Feeding in Monrovia.
The event highlighted the relevance of school meals in the education of the African child as well as the importance of home-grown school feeding to agriculture and food security, livelihoods and rural
development.
The event brought together government officials, UN agencies, schools, and development partners.
The programmer begun with a public parade at the BW Harris High School on Broad Street followed by an indoor programmer at the Centennial Pavilion.
Speaking at the occasion Assistant Education Minister for Students and Personnel Services Othello W.Nimely said that the African School Feeling Day is decision reached by Af5rican Heads of State and Government during the 26th summit of the African Union in January 2016 in support of School Feeling and established March 1 as the day to celebrate each year across the continent of Africa.
According to him, in recent year’s home growing school feeling has been the focus of the school feeling program across countries African including Liberia.
He said Africa n Countries and the African Union have adopted policies in favor of Home Growing School Feeling at the Conference Center in Addis Ababa.
Min.Nimely noted that the School Feeling program has been a key tool in realizing the effort to get every girls and boys to school by reducing poverty related disparities.
He the program mainly supported by the World Food Program and Mary’s Meals International has a significant impact on enrolment ,retention attendance as well as reducing dropout rates among school age children.
He pointed out that, additionally, Meals provided directly hungry children reduce short-term hunger and serve as a vehicle for meeting their nutritional requirements and closes the gender gap between girls and boys enrollment.
For his part, the Deputy Agriculture Minister for Regional Planning, Research and Extension Counselor Sayma Syremiun Cephus who served as keynote speaker lauded The World Food Programmed (WFP), and the Ministry of Education and partners for organizing the program and proposed the establishment of a “School to Garden Program” something he believed will enable schools to have their own garden.