Two more Armenian provinces to join National School Feeding Program
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. Two more provinces of Armenia - Kotayk and Armavir - will join the National School Feeding Program implemented by the UN World Food Program with active participation of the Russian Federation.
WFP has been implementing school feeding in Armenia since 2012, providing over 100,000 schoolchildren with hot and nutritious meals every day.
The UN Office in Yerevan said under the "National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the School Feeding" action plan, the schools of Armavir, in 2022, and, Kotayk, in 2023, will be handed over to the "National School Feeding Program" of the Government of Armenia.
WFP has been gradually handing over its school feeding program to the Government of Armenia since 2017. Six provinces had already been nationalized; Vayots Dzor, Syunik, Ararat, Tavush, Shirak and Aragatsotn.
“Thanks to the long-standing partnership with the Government of Armenia and the constant support from the Russian Federation and numerous other partners over the past decade, there has been a substantial investment in schools’ infrastructure as well as human capital in the country,” said WFP Country Director and Representative in Armenia Jelena Milosevic.
“School feeding in Armenia has become a key programme that drives community development, enhances national ownership and provides multi-layer education and job opportunities and promotes a healthy lifestyle. The achievements we celebrate today prove that this approach has had tangible positive results.”
In 2020, the program celebrated its 10th anniversary and the successful strategic cooperation between the WFP, Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation towards creating a national programme for accessible and sustainable school feeding in the country.
School feeding positively reduces poverty rates by 0.4 percentage in Armenia and is a major contributor to the social protection system.
For every one US$ invested in Armenia’s school feeding program, there is a US$7.1 return in the form of improved health and education among school children and increased professional productivity over their lifetime. -0-
