In a ceremony held in Dushanbe, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Dushanbe and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) handed over 678 MT of fortified wheat flour, 147 MT of fortified sunflower oil, and 150 MT of pulses to the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, according to WFP Office in Tajikistan.
More than 393 MT of food commodities were delivered to Sughd province.
It was announced that another batch of food aid totaling 1,354 MT would soon arrive in the country. This food will be distributed among 2,000 rural schools in Tajikistan as part of the WFP School Feeding Program, financed by the Russian Federation.
The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Tajikistan, Dilshod Safarzodai, Chargé d'Affaires of the Russian Federation in Tajikistan Vera Khutorskaya and WFP Representative and Country Director in Tajikistan Adham Musallam.
“Thanks to the Russian food aid, children will receive not only knowledge but also delicious and healthy meals at school in the next academic year,” noted Khutorskaya in her speech.
Alongside the food aid, the School Feeding Program also includes the renovation of school canteens.
“This year, we expanded this initiative to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Local children will start the new school year and come to renovated canteens. In other regions of Tajikistan, we also continuously monitor and seek schools that can participate in our program,” Khutorskaya added.
“Thanks to close cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and continuous support from the Government of the Russian Federation, the implementation of the National School Feeding Program contributes not only to improving the nutrition and health of schoolchildren but also to expanding access to education and achieving further learning success,” said Adham Musallam.
During the ceremony, issues related to food security, school feeding, and preparation for the new school year in schools were also discussed.
The School Feeding Program is the largest project of the WFP in Tajikistan, funded by the Government of the Russian Federation since 2013. Within this program, about 450,000 students in grades 1-4 from 2,000 schools in 53 districts and cities of the country receive regular hot meals.
