Bangladesh government announced that it will expand its school meal program to reach 400,000 children in 2,000 schools across 16 upazilas.
The program, piloted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2013, gives school children fresh, hot school meals in Bamna of Barguna and Islampur upazila in Jamalpur.
Locally-sourced fresh vegetables are included along with lentils and micronutrient-fortified rice and oil, according to a WFP release.
The pilot has shown that these fresh meals are a cost-effective approach to combating micronutrient deficiency.
“We thank the government for their initiative to transition from fortified biscuits to fresh, hot meals. Nutritious meals for school children have a high return on investment, as they improve children’s health and productivity throughout their life,” said Richard Ragan, WFP representative and country director at a school meals policy consultation in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The expansion, funded by the Government of Bangladesh, represents $20 million investment in the future health and productivity of these students. In addition, for the first time, the government will contribute $3.6 million to support WFP-implemented school feeding in impoverished schools in the country.
This contribution will help WFP reach over 172,000 school children in 2019, it added.
WFP’s efforts complement the government-led School Feeding Programme in poverty prone areas, which reaches over 2.7 million children each year.
WFP provides technical assistance to this programme, with an aim to reach more children than ever before.
Micronutrient deficiencies present a huge challenge to Bangladesh, with economic losses to malnutrition estimated at $1 billion per year. Healthy, fresh, locally-sourced meals that provide adequate macro and micronutrients for school children are a major step towards ensuring a prosperous future for all Bangladeshis, it said.
