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School meals for nearly 180,000 children in Mali at risk, UN food agency warns

Xinhua, September 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that school meals for nearly 180,000 children in about 1,000 schools are in jeopardy due to financial constraints, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

Unless 3 million U.S. dollars in funding are found urgently, WFP will have to suspend its school meals program in the country, the deputy UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said at a daily news briefing here.

"This is critical. School meals are often the only nutritious meal a child receives a day, relieving families from further financial stress, motivating parents to send their children to school, and, ultimately, serving as a vehicle for education," said Silvia Caruso, WFP's Mali country director.

"Teachers tell us that if the meals are no longer provided, there is a significant risk that parents will stop sending their children to school; children find it difficult to walk long distances to school or stay in class for a full day on an empty stomach," she added.

Since 2010, Mali has faced successive food security crises, brought on by irregular rainfall and prolonged insecurity in the north of the country. More than a quarter of the population suffers from moderate and severe food insecurity, according to WFP.

The agency noted that despite the high levels of insecurity -- particularly in northern and central Mali -- since 2012, it has been able to provide, along with its partners, school meals to an average of 170,000 children per year.

According to a 2014 national survey, the average prevalence of global acute malnutrition in Malian children under five years old stands at 13 percent. The World Health Organization (WHO) rates a global acute malnutrition prevalence between 10 and 14 percent as serious, and above 15 percent as a critical emergency. Enditem