Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Sierra Leone is set to launch Phase V of the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. Since 2008, CRS has been implementing the Food for Education programme together with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and CARITAS Makeni across 310 schools in Koinadugu and Falaba districts. The program which has gone through four phases will continue to reduce hunger and promotes literacy and primary education, especially for girls. The Food for Education program demonstrates that nutritious meals increase school attendance and promote higher academic performance. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Phase 5 of the program focuses on promoting Home-Grown School Feeding through local and regional procurement, community ownership and sustainability to improve quality education. The Local and Regional Procurement model of Phase V aligns with the government’s commitment to introduce the Home-Grown School Feeding program in Sierra Leone. Since the pronouncement of the Free Quality School Education in 2018, school feeding has been an integral aspect of the Government of Sierra Leone development priorities.
Ahead of the launching, the Country Representative of CRS Sierra Leone Andrianambinina, Jeanne Ella said “Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been operating in Sierra Leone for 60 years, leading development efforts in education, health and urban resilience. The Food for Education program is complimenting the Government’s free quality education priority to ensuring that all children reach their full health and development potentials in a safe and nurturing families.”
