WFP in awareness campaign for school feeding programme

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has embarked on a weeklong school feeding awareness campaign in the province on Ouham Pende, northwestern Central African Republic (CAR), where it started in early January distributing food to local primary schools, an official told IRIN on Wednesday. "We are explaining to teachers, parents and school authorities what their responsibilities are in the food distribution process," David Bulman, the WFP representative, said. He said that the drive, which began on Saturday, had started with messages aired on rural radios but that a campaign on the ground had proven necessary for a better management of food in school canteens. Together with primary schools in Ouham, Kemo and Nana Grebizi provinces, those in Ouham Pende are benefiting from WFP food in the 2003-2004 school year. The first three provinces have been receiving rations for since December 2003. All four provinces were badly affected by the six-month civil war that ended in March 2003, and pitted the rebels loyal to current leader Francois Bozize against government troops. During the war, public facilities, including schools and health facilities, were looted and damaged. "By providing food to children, we significantly support families, which have to feed the other members," Bulman said. He added that of the 100,000 children initially targeted, at least 70,000 had already been reached. Some 30,000 others have not benefited from the programme as some regions remain inaccessible due to insecurity. Bulman said that Kabo, 446 km north of the capital, Bangui, and other towns had been excluded for security reasons. Despite the WFP food aid to primary schools, Bulman said there were children who were nutritionally vulnerable and who had not been targeted by the WFP emergency school feeding programme. He said talks were underway with NGOs to consider how best children who have not yet attained school-going age and those not in schools could be identified and introduced to nutritional rehabilitation centres. He said that such children, as well as other vulnerable groups, would face food hardships and malnutrition during the lean January-June season. "A significant portion of the population is going to have food shortages and children may have malnutrition," Bulman said. He added that the population’s last agricultural production had been poor. Farmers in war-affected areas lost at least two planting seasons during the war and lacked seeds to plant during the seasons that followed.