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Guyana collaborating with FAO to improve school feeding programme
Guyana is on a tactical mission to strengthen and transform its national school feeding programme. Moreover, discussion on the way forward was a top priority when newly appointed Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] Representative to Guyana, Dr. Gillian Smith, met with Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, on Thursday.
This move comes in light of the FAO’s mandate to reduce poverty and eradicate hunger globally by working across sectors, including Ministries of Education.
It is expected that Dr. Smith, a Jamaican national, will be able to work closely with Guyana given her Guyanese heritage which she spoke proudly as she engaged the Education Minister on measures to strengthen and transform the national school feeding programme.
Indeed it was in an effort to move forward with a structured school feeding programme that the local Ministry of Education decided to partner with FAO.
Moreover, as part of Thursday’s self-orientation exercise, Dr. Smith and Minister Henry discussed a range of issues regarding the FAO effort in Guyana, with the main focus on the ongoing work of the Education Ministry relating to its school feeding programme.
Calling the discussion with the Education Minister “very fruitful,” Dr. Smith noted that the FAO has provided, and will continue to provide, needed support to the Ministry of Education and by extension, the Government of Guyana, for the benefit of its populace. Through the interaction, Minister Henry informed Dr. Smith about the human and structural development programmes which the Education Ministry executes.
The Minister listed school feeding as a priority for Government, as reflected in the 2019 budgetary allocations.
Minister Nicolette Henry (right) presents Dr. Gillian Smith with a record of Guyana’s history.
“We [the FAO] work to promote and support the country programme and we are looking for key areas to continue the work that we do, while contributing to the development of education and food security in Guyana,” said Dr. Smith.
To this, Minister Henry promised the FAO representative to facilitate pathways for networking with the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms. Adele Clarke, to share the Ministry’s transformational vision aimed at strengthening and expansion of various programmes among other subject matter.
Dr. Smith said too that it is obvious that the school feeding programme is extremely important to Guyana, while commending Minister Henry for being a champion for the cause.
According to Dr. Smith, “school feeding programmes can be really transformational in the development of the human capital of a country as this ensures that children have proper nutrition which allows them to have better cognitive results and learning outcomes.”
Additionally, Dr. Smith noted that her organisation knows that school feeding programmes provide a real opportunity for children to understand nutrition education, which is key to tackling issues of Non-Communicable diseases [NCDs].
The contention of the FAO representative, with agreement from Minister Henry, is that, “if we can teach children through a vibrant and productive school feeding programme how to be lifelong healthy eaters, this can help to contribute to the reduction of the NCDs and contribute to a healthy population that is productive.”
Upon conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Smith committed to Minister Henry that, “We [FAO] are looking forward to being able to work with the Ministry of Education around many of the areas that the Ministry is already working on, including nutrition education”.
The conversation between the two officials also concentrated on the curriculum and the work being done to strengthen and revise same.
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