Chinese government aided food distribution boosts Liberia's school feeding program

A Chinese government distribution of food aid has boosted Liberia's school feeding program in the counties of Montserrado, Nimba, and Maryland.

On Monday, Ren Yisheng, China's ambassador to Liberia, visited the Pipeline Public School and Police Academy Public school. During his visit he encouraged the students to work hard, use their knowledge to change their fate, and to make greater contributions to China-Liberia friendship and Liberia's economic and social construction.

Last year, the Chinese government invested $2 million to purchase rice and other materials by the World Food Programme and donated 40 kilograms of emergency food rations for two months to each of the 55,250 disadvantaged student families in Montserrado, Nimba, Maryland and other counties hit hardest by the epidemic.

The food ration was intended to meet the increasing humanitarian and development needs of Liberia through improving the nutritional conditions and dietary diversification of benefiting students, including protecting children's access to basic education and human capital development, as well as building the resilience of food-insecure communities to the shocks, a statement from the Chinese Embassy said.

Ren said during Monday's visit that China will continue to strengthen cooperation with international agencies such as WFP to help Liberia cope with the epidemic and improve food security. He said a total of 276,250 people are expected to benefit from the food aid this year.

The WFP has provided daily meals to children in more than 700 primary schools in nine counties with low enrollment, high dropout and repetition rates, wide gender disparities, and high stunting levels in Liberia.

It has also distributed take-home rations including oil and rice to girls in upper primary grades as an incentive for families to keep girls in schools. These incentives are conditional upon at least 80 percent attendance in the previous month.