21 July 2020 – The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), organized a webinar on Managing Continuity & Preparedness of School-feeding Programmes under COVID-19 & the role of South-South Cooperation.
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- Please click here to download the webinar summary.
- Please click here to download the webinar presentation.
Background:
At least 310 million school children are currently missing school meals in 162 countries. The massive impact of school closures has highlighted the importance of school feeding programmes that provide a crucial, widespread safety net that supports vulnerable children and their families. Many low- and middle-income countries are adapting their programmes to continue supporting children during school closures and will soon turn their attention towards school reopening. When schools reopen, countries will need to rethink how to improve their programmes under a reduced budget scenario and how to prepare these programmes for any other future crisis or a in case of a second wave of the pandemic.
To support the necessary coping mechanisms, the World Food Programme continued to provide basic service delivery support for countries to adapt their programmes and continue serving meals. As schools start to reopen, South-South Cooperation, as a means for knowledge exchange and technical assistance, can contribute to programme adaption and resilience.
Co-organized by the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), this webinar presents the global scenario and the tools available to support school feeding programmes in Latin America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa while the crisis’ effects lasts. Voices from the field across the globe will showcase how they are dealing with coping mechanisms and managing continuity at the same time they need to plan for improving actions in a long-term crisis. The UNOSSC will present how South-South Cooperation can be a means to support adaption and preparedness for programmes like school feeding.
Agenda:
1. OPENING STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes)- Mr. Daniel Balaban – Director of WFP Centre of Excellence in Brazil
- Mr. Jorge Chediek, Director of UNOSSC & Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation
- Ms. Carmen Burbano – WFP School-Based Services, Director and co-author of the “WFP, UNICEF, FAO Interim guidance for COVID-19 prevention and control in schools”
- Mr. Pedro Mortara, Programme Policy Officer, leading School Feeding Actions, WFP Mozambique Country Office, Maputo, Mozambique:
- Mr. Chhun Ramy, Deputy of the Primary Education Department, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Juan Carlos Martínez, Director of the School Feeding Special Management Unit, Ministry of Education of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
