The Ministry of Education Celebrates Africa Day of School Feeding, as the Government of Liberia enhances efforts to increase enrollment and provide quality Education for all Liberian Students.

Ministry of Education Celebrates Africa Day of School Feeding

(May 1, 2023, Monrovia -Liberia) – As the Government of Liberia enhances efforts to increase enrollment and provide quality Education for all Liberian Students, the Ministry of Education and its partners, over the weekend, celebrated Africa Day of School Feeding under the continental theme” Boosting Local Food Procurement Systems and Regional Value Chains for sustained Home-grown school feeding”.

Africa Day of School Feeding is a decision reached by African Heads of States and Government during the 26th summit of the African Union in January, 2016, in support of school feeding.

Meanwhile, the objectives of the implementation of the School Feeding Program in Liberia include the following:

* Increase enrollment

*Attendance

*Retention and completion rates of students in schools

*Alleviate short-term hunger to improve learning capacity,

*Promote a paradigm shift in attitudes of agriculture through intervention,

*Enhance nutrition and improve the health of school children

*Decrease morbidity and paving the way for heathier life

*Contribute to social equity and address gender and social inequities in education through communities, parents and teachers.

For his part, the Assistant Minister of Students Personnel Services, Hon. Tarnue Marwolo Bongolee, lauded and congratulated the development partners as well as the government for what he termed as timely intervention and continuous support towards the school feeding program.

According to Minister Bongolee, the presense of the school feeding program in schools will improve enrollment, enhance nutrition to improve learning outcomes and alleviate short-term hunger adding, government remained supportive to provide an enabling learning environment for all Liberian Students.

The Minister, however, called all relevant stakeholders, institutions, development partners, amongst others, to invest in agriculture productivity so as to aid the implementation of the ongoing school feeding program noting, national government can’t do it all by herself without external interventions.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Madam Willimetta Piso-Saydee Tarr, thanked USAID, UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), World Bank, amongst others, for their continuous support directed towards strengthening and improving enrollment in schools.

Speaking as Guest Speaker on the program commemorating Africa Day of School Feeding held Friday, April 28, 2023, in Tubmanburg, Bomi County, Minister Tarr said, the school feeding program initiated by national government and supported by partners, is essential to further boost the growth of the education system and agriculture efficiency.

Adding, she urged schools’ authorities County and District Education Officers and relevant institutions to remain steadfast for the successful implementation of the school feeding program as she certificated the development partners for their continuous assistance through the provision of nutritional food supplies to selected schools across the Country.

This year’s event brought together several institutions including World Bank, USAID, UNICEF, ECOWAS, World Food Programme (WFP), Mary’s Meals Liberia, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Save the Children.

Others were: Schools’ authorities, County and District Education Officers, Civil Society Organizations, amongst others.

For more information regarding the Ministry of Education, please contact J Maxime Bleetahn, Director of Communications & Public Relations on 0777212197/MoE hotline 1416/Website: www.moeliberia.com/ Facebook page: Ministry of Education-Liberia.