Addis Ababa, October 17, 2023 (FBC) – The first-ever global meeting of the School Meals Coalition will be held in Paris, France, from October 18 to 19, 2023, under the theme: “Investing in Future Generations: Human Capital, Sustainable Food Systems and Climate Change Action through School Meals.”
It is noted that on 18 October 2023, the French President will open the first global meeting of the School Meals Coalition.
Launched in 2021 by the World Food Programme (WFP) with the support of France and Finland, this coalition aims to offer every child in the world access to the necessary school meals by 2030, to enable them to learn and grow.
The Summit will be attended by heads of state, ministers, regional organizations, representatives from international and local non-governmental organizations, foundations, research institutions, municipalities, parliamentary networks, and UN agencies.
Participants will showcase life-changing results and facilitate the sharing of best practices to shape more responsive and resilient school meal programs that can achieve greater impact and reach more children.
In the run-up to the inaugural Summit, Ambassador of France to Ethiopia, Rémi Maréchaux, Deputy Head of Mission at the Finnish Embassy in Ethiopia, Lari Peltonen, and World Food Programme (WFP Ethiopia) country director, Claude Jibidar, visited Wondirad Primary School to have a look at Ethiopia’s school feeding initiative.
It is to be recalled that Addis Ababa city has won the 8th Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) Global Forum Award on Sustainable Diet and Nutrition for its ‘Schools Feeding Program’ best practice, beating 133 cities in the world last year. This program is also being implemented in regional states of Ethiopia in the past few years.
About a week ago, the City has also been elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the 4th Milan Urban Food Policy Pact from Africa for its best performance and experience in homegrown school feeding program.
In that regard, it is likely that Ethiopia will be one of the participants to showcase the experiences in implementing the program.
The Summit will mobilize member states, development partners, and donors to increase their efforts to reach all primary school children by 2030.
Among the 349 million people in the world at high risk of food insecurity, 153 million are children or young people. While school meals play a key role in addressing this emergency, they also help meet all of the Sustainable Development Goals, according to the data published by the French Foreign Ministry.