ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

This operation has been modified as per budget revision 8 (see below).

This development project responds to the Government's request for support in establishing, by 2030, a viable, sustainable, nationally-owned school meals programme, supported primarily through local products purchased from small producers, and consistent with the Government¡¯s efforts to guarantee basic education for all children.

During the initial years towards that goal, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳will directly assist 485,000 primary school children in five departments in northern Haiti ¡ª Artibonite, Centre, Nord, Nord-Est and Nord-Ouest ¡ª while simultaneously supporting national capacities to manage school meals in the longer-term. The specific project objectives include: i) help to ensure that primary school children remain in school to improve their education and nutritional levels;1 ii) reduce micronutrient deficiencies and particularly the incidence of anaemia; and iii) enhance the capacities of the Government to enable it to continue to expand its national school meals programme in a sustainable manner. The capacity development efforts will centre around defining a legal and institutional framework linking national school meals with its parent ministry; enhancing monitoring and evaluation of national school meals; and expanding possibilities for supplying schools with locally produced food.

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Budget revision 8 to Haiti DEV 200150 is proposed to: extend the operation for two years, reaching 489,000 schoolchildren each school year;  emphasize the importance of nutrition by increasing children¡¯s micronutrient intake and reinforcing nutrition-sensitive complementary activities; promote local food production by purchasing locally grown food and expanding the scope of home-grown school feeding; and continue to build government capacity to manage the school meals programme.