According to the Minister of Basic and secondary school education (MBSSE), Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, there are over 737,000 school going children in Koinadugu and Falaba districts that are directly benefitting from Phase5 of the McGovern-Dole International food for education and child Nutrition Program in northern Sierra Leone.
The Catholic Relief Services has been working in close partnership with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Education and Caritas Makeni for over 15 years in the implementation of the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program in northern Sierra Leone. The program aims to reduce hunger by promoting literacy and primary education specifically the girl child as it demonstrates that nutritious meals in school increase school attendance and promotes higher academic performance.
The program which runs from 2023 until September 2025 is funded by the USDA (United States Department for Agriculture) and targets 75,188 people in Koinadugu and Falaba districts as other collaborating partners include the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology and the Teaching Service Commission.
The Phase5 of the program which runs from 2021 to 2025, the Catholic Relief Services will continue working with the Government of Sierra Leone, CARITAS Makeni and other community organizations. The sustainability of the program is heavily dependent on local and regional procurement rather than the importation of donated commodities from the USA and Phase5 will prioritize sustainability and transitioning to the government.
The Phase5 of the project is targeting the reduction of hunger, improving school enrollment, building and rehabilitation of schools, establishing school gardens to pr9omote nutritious diets, form SILC so parents can invest in education and implementation of community and school-based health activities and increase deworming in schools.
The McGovern-Dole school feeding program will continue to cover 15 chiefdoms in two of the country’s most underdeveloped districts which are Koinadugu and Falaba districts respectively and will assist over 51,000 school children in 310 schools.
Phase5 of the program will improve literacy of school age children by improving the skills of teachers and school administrators, teacher attendance and access to school supplies and literacy instruction materials, adding that it will improve attendance and attentiveness through better access to food and nutrition. It will also improve attendance by providing nutritious meals, take home meals, economic incentives to parents and tackling cultural issues that impact student attendance and tends to improve knowledge of health and hygiene practices by training food preparers, increasing access to clean water and sanitation, deworming medications and food preparation and storage facilities.