The funds have been awarded to WFP's Nepal office through a competitive process operated by USDA's McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (McGovern-Dole), which has a long history of supporting Nepal's efforts to promote food security and opportunities for education.
This award will support a comprehensive five-year initiative (2023-2028) focused on improving education, nutrition and health for children across the country, jointly implemented by WFP in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Embassy of United States of America in Nepal, cooperating partners World Education (a division of JSI), Integrated Development Society Nepal, and Mercy Corps.
The award (in-kind and cash) will ensure that children receive nutritious meals every day at school, a vital social safety net promoting access to and equity in education, health and literacy, especially for children from food-insecure families. This essential support will annually benefit 122,000 pre-primary and primary school children from more than 1,000 schools across Bajhang, Bajura and Darchula Districts of Sudur Paschim Province.
"For many families in far western Nepal, food scarcity is a serious challenge that makes it difficult for parents to feed their children," said Robert Kasca, WFP Nepal's Representative and Country Director. "Offering school meals serves as an incentive for these parents to send their children to school, especially girls, creating opportunities for breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty."
The school meals will be prepared with fortified rice and fortified vegetable oil, donated by the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The rest of the ingredients will be sourced from local markets and smallholder farmers in the vicinity of schools, scaling up a home-grown approach to the Mid-day Meal Programme.
"In Nepal, the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program works through its implementing partner, the World Food Programme. Through the McGovern-Dole Program, more than 700,000 children have received a daily school meal in the most remote areas of Nepal. Building on previous success here in Nepal, the project will continue to carry out complementary activities with a strong focus on building the government's capacity to eventually and successfully handover the project to the government of Nepal," says Erika Beltran, Senior International Program Specialist, for USDA's McGovern-Dole Program.
In addition to implementing the school meals programme, WFP will continue to support the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in strengthening government capacity at federal, provincial and local levels to ensure a full transition of the programme to the government by 2028. Moreover, the Ministry will receive technical assistance and capacity strengthening support from WFP in the areas of logistics and supply chain, planning and implementing cost-efficient and nutritious school meal menus, procurement and supply of commodities, and consolidating the national policy framework.
