Japan has given JPY 300 million, about USD 1.8 million, to the UN World Food Programme in the Republic of Congo, enough for school meals for 57,000 students and food assistance for refugees and asylum seekers, WFP announced at a ceremony in Brazzaville.
The money will buy rice and canned fish for school meals and help feed refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. In participating schools the meals support children's dietary diversity, attendance, concentration and learning while cutting families' food costs. WFP serves school meals to 92,000 children across the country, with attendance above 90 percent in the schools it supports.
The refugee assistance will reach families in the Likouala, Plateaux and Djoué-Léfini districts, where limited income and access to land make it hard to meet food needs, especially in areas hit by recurrent flooding.
"School meals help children attend school regularly and learn in better conditions," said Jean-Luc Mouthou, Congo's Minister of Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education and Literacy. Hidetoshi Ogawa, Japan's ambassador, said the country "has long welcomed people fleeing instability".
Since 2016 Japan has contributed more than USD 16.5 million, equivalent to CFAF 9.65 billion, to WFP's operations in the Republic of Congo, for school feeding, refugee assistance and nutrition. "A daily school meal supports children's health and learning," said Gon Myers, WFP's representative and country director.
Photo: Fdsm / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: WFP
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