{"id":89894,"date":"2024-11-14T10:18:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T10:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes"},"modified":"2024-11-14T10:28:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T10:28:24","slug":"unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes","title":{"rendered":"UNICEF urges expansion of school nutrition programmes to improve learning outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Addressing nutrition, health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and other sector efforts is critical to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education, leading to lifelong health outcomes, said Samson Desie, the Nutrition Program Manager and Early Childhood Development Coordinator at UNICEF.<\/p>\n

Desie made the remarks during a panel discussion titled \u201cSchool Health and Nutrition: Achieving Impact at Scale, the Critical Role of School Health and Nutrition,\u201d held on November 12 as part of the second Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2024), a three-day event at the Kigali Convention Centre.<\/p>\n

UNICEF has been working to transform school feeding and health programs in low-income countries through an initiative aimed at supporting 35 million vulnerable children across 30 countries since 2020 in partnership with World Food Program.<\/p>\n

The initiative focuses on providing comprehensive school health and nutrition packages, including meals, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.<\/p>\n

UNICEF\u2019s role involves mobilising resources and collaborating with national governments and partners to ensure sustainable school-based support that fosters learning and growth, especially for girls.<\/p>\n

By strengthening children\u2019s health and nutrition, UNICEF and WFP aim to enhance school attendance, improve learning outcomes, and reduce gender disparities, ultimately contributing to Sustainable Development Goals such as eradicating poverty, improving education quality, and promoting gender equality.<\/p>\n

Desie emphasised the widespread issue of malnutrition among school-age children and its impact on the continent\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem of malnutrition, especially among school-age children, is widespread. We cannot expect to transform our continent without addressing this issue comprehensively through school nutrition and health programs as a part of our response,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Highlighting recent statistics, Desie noted that in some African countries, research shows a 10 per cent increase in spending is associated with an 8 per cent decrease in the proportion of children completing primary school, which affects both productivity and lifespan.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of our countries face high levels of spending challenges, and as someone mentioned earlier, we need to tackle these issues head-on,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Desie also stressed on the hidden issue of micronutrient deficiency, often overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we say we need to go beyond just providing a school meal. The meal needs to be nutritious and rich in essential nutrients. Otherwise, we are left with a hidden hunger that remains unseen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For instance, he noted that iodine deficiency alone affects about 16 million school-age children globally and is linked to a reduction of up to 17.5 IQ points.<\/p>\n

He stressed that comprehensive investment in the health, nutrition, and well-being of students is essential.<\/p>\n

Calling for innovative approaches to financing and coordination, Desie noted successful examples from Kenya, urging others to strengthen similar innovations.<\/p>\n

\u201cUNICEF advocates for a comprehensive school food and nutrition program to prevent all forms of malnutrition among school-age children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes nutritious school meals, a healthy school food environment free from unhealthy foods high in sugar, salt, and fat, adequate water and sanitation facilities, micronutrient supplementation, skill-based nutrition education, and physical activity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Colleen O’Connor, WFP\u2019s School Feeding Programme Manager, emphasised the importance of expanding school feeding initiatives to reach younger children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to compliment what Desie has said from UNICEF and add that WFP also encourages broadening school feeding programs to focus on early childhood development and pre-primary students, maximising nutritional impact for 3- to 5-year-olds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She commended Rwanda\u2019s recent development of a sustainable financing strategy for school feeding, which was validated by the Ministry of Education and the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, calling it a valuable example.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Addressing nutrition, health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and other sector efforts is critical to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education, leading to lifelong health outcomes, said Samson Desie, the Nutrition Program Manager and Early Childhood Development Coordinator at UNICEF. Desie made the remarks during a panel discussion titled \u201cSchool Health and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[325,758,6777,435,4353],"class_list":["post-89894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-education","tag-rwanda","tag-school-feeding-program","tag-unicef","tag-wfp"],"yoast_head":"\nUNICEF urges expansion of school nutrition programmes to improve learning outcomes - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Addressing nutrition, health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and other sector efforts is critical to achieve incl ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UNICEF urges expansion of school nutrition programmes to improve learning outcomes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Addressing nutrition, health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and other sector efforts is critical to achieve incl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-14T10:18:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-14T10:28:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/11\/sm_1731567459.736076.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"UNICEF urges expansion of school nutrition programmes to improve learning outcomes\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-14T10:18:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-14T10:28:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\"},\"wordCount\":600,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/11\/sm_1731567459.736076.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Education\",\"Rwanda\",\"School feeding program\",\"UNICEF\",\"WFP\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/unicef-urges-expansion-of-school-nutrition-programmes-to-improve-learning-outcomes\",\"name\":\"UNICEF urges expansion of school nutrition programmes to improve learning outcomes - 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