US envoy visits WFP school
Thursday, 11 June 2015
US Ambassador in Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat visited on Wednesday a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding programme at Kanchipara Government Primary School in Gaibandha district, reports UNB.
The programme is supported by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition programme.
Christa Räder, WFP Bangladesh Representative, accompanied the US Ambassador.
In March, 2015, the WFP received a shipment of 9,740 metric tonnes of soft white wheat from the USDA McGovern-Dole programme.
"The donated US wheat that arrived in Bangladesh a few months ago supports the goals of the USDA McGovern-Dole programme and the government of Bangladesh to improve nutrition for the Bangladeshi people and their children," said the US diplomat.
The wheat would be used to produce nutritious biscuits for approximately 130,000 pre-primary and primary school children in Gaibandha.
For the next three years, these children will receive vitamin- and mineral-enriched biscuits every day at school. All these biscuits are produced in Bangladesh.
This contribution is a continuation of USDA's long-standing support to Bangladesh's school feeding programme, which improves enrollment and attendance by alleviating short term hunger, helping children concentrate better on their lessons.