20 January 2011
Australia Supports School Feeding in Laos
Australia has given AUD1 million in grant funding to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to assist pre-primary and primary school children in 30 districts of Laos through its School Meals Programme in 2011.
This will enable WFP to continue providing nutritious mid-morning snacks and take-home rations to students during the transition from a WFP-managed school feeding program to a National School Meals program to be implemented by the Ministry of Education.
School feeding has been an important contributor to the steady increase in school enrolment and attendance rates in Laos. School feeding also provides an incentive for children to attend school, encourages more girls to attend, improves children’s concentration and reduces drop out rates.
“We continue to support school feeding in Laos because we believe it increases access to education which is one of the Ministry of Education’s policy priorities in the Education Sector Development Framework,”, said Mrs. Lynda Worthaisong, Australian Ambassador to Laos.
Through this support, poor children living in remote villages are given mid-morning snacks at school and take-home rations at the beginning and end of the school year. This helps to improve concentration during classes and also encourages children to attend school. “About 156,000 pre-primary and primary school students benefit from school feeding in Laos. In addition to the nutritional benefits, school meals are an effective way to encourage parents to send their children - especially girls - to school”, said Eri Kudo, WFP Representative in Lao PDR.
Australia has been a long standing supporter of the School Feeding Program in Laos, particularly through the Access to Basic Education in Laos Program (ABEL) which is fully funded by Australia from 2006-11 and has been implemented by the Ministry of Education, WFP and UNICEF in Oudomxay, Phongsaly and Luang Namtha provinces.
This AUD1 million donation is in addition to the USD 1 million that Australia provided in 2010 to support school meals in Laos. Australia is committed to assist countries reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, particularly MDG2: Achieve Universal Primary Education.
Media contacts: Mr. Raine Dixon
Head of Development Cooperation
Australian Embassy
Vientiane, Lao PDR
Tel: 021 353800