Canada’s leadership is helping to reduce chronic hunger and malnutrition, improve learning, and increase school attendance
November 18, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced Canada's continued support for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding program in Afghanistan.
“Education is the foundation for better human rights, peace and democracy, and when made available to girls, it delays early marriage and childbirth, improves child health and leads to more equitable development,’’ said Minister Paradis. ‘‘Canada’s support to the WFP will improve enrolment and attendance rates, especially for girls, and improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren and their families in food-insecure districts in Afghanistan.’’
Canada is providing $3.6 million over two years to the WFP school feeding program in Afghanistan. This program will provide take-home rations of fortified cooking oil to more than 550,000 girls and boys in Grades 1–6 in targeted schools. Given the particularly high dropout rate for girls in Grades 7 and 8, fortified cooking oil is also distributed to an additional 107,000 girls in these grades to encourage them and their parents to continue with their education. Cooking oil is a desirable component of the local diet in Afghanistan, has high nutritional value, and is easy to transport and store.
In 2014, Afghanistan was confirmed as a country of focus for the Government of Canada's international development efforts and is also one of Canada’s 10 maternal, newborn and child health countries of focus. In fiscal year 2012–2013, Canada provided more than $107 million in official development assistance to this country.
Quick Facts
- Canada has been one of the largest donors to the WFP school feeding program since 2003.
- The WFP is the world’s largest provider of school meals as a way to motivate children to enrol, attend and stay in school, and as a means of increasing their nutritional status.
- The WFP is Canada’s largest humanitarian partner, and Canada was the WFP’s third-largest donor in 2013, contributing more than $370 million to its operations.
- In 2013, the WFP provided food assistance to more than 80 million people in 75 of the world’s poorest countries.
- Improving maternal, newborn and child health is the top development priority of the Government of Canada, which includes addressing the causes of under-nutrition in women, adolescent girls and children under the age of five.
- On May 28–30, 2014, in Toronto, the Prime Minister hosted the Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach Summit. At the Summit, Canada committed an additional $3.5 billion to continue support to 2020, and reaffirm global consensus on a shared commitment to advance maternal, newborn and child health as a worldwide priority.
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Contacts
Maxime Robert
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-6238
maxime.robert@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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