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Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren

Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren

Nearly 1.5 billion children – more than half of the world’s student population – are being kept away from school due to pandemic response measures. Nationwide school closures are in force in more than 180 countries while in many others there are localized closures which…

April 8, 2020 - Last update: February 10, 2023

Nearly 1.5 billion children – more than half of the world’s student population – are being kept away from school due to pandemic response measures. Nationwide school closures are in force in more than 180 countries while in many others there are localized closures which threaten to become countrywide.

The disruption and closure of schools around the world will have a negative impact not just on children’s right to education but on other human rights including their right to adequate food. More than 350 million schoolchildren in countries with nationwide and localized closures, might not have access to regular school feeding and nutrition services during the pandemic.

This joint note from the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is aimed at providing preliminary guidance to national and local authorities, school administrators and staff and implementing partners on how to take short-term measures to support, transform or adapt school feeding programmes in their efforts to safeguard the food security and nutritional status of school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides specific recommendations according to the various target groups involved in school feeding and has an additional section providing guidance specifically around homegrown school feeding.

This guidance note will be regularly updated as the situation evolves, and new information becomes available. It complements other guidelines and advice developed by specialized UN agencies, such as UNESCO, WHO, and other international agencies.

 

• Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren – English

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Nutrition for Growth Covid-19