The Deputy Minister of Education Nancy Mdooko MP, is currently in Ethiopia to represent the country on African School Feeding Commemoration Day.
Every year on 1st of March, Africa celebrate School Feeding Day and this year African Union is celebrating the Day in two countries in Ethiopia and Morocco.
Countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe and others are participating the commemoration.
The celebrations were initiated in 2016 by the African Heads of States and Governments in recognition of the importance of Home Grown School feeding program.
On her part, the deputy minister commended the program that it has helped the country in improving girls’ education, health and well being thereby mitigating gender disparities in access to education, contributing to decrease in early marriages, Promoting partnerships between educationists, farmers, extension workers and nutritionists.
She also added that the program has helped in equipping communities with knowledge and skills in diversified food production in increasing incomes for farm families through farmers’ associations and stimulating local economic activities.
However, Mdooko has called for continuity in collaboration between government and development partners and all school feeding stakeholders in order to build more sustainable, low cost and highly scalable school feeding programs.