Food for Education

Situation
While one of the region’s more stable countries, Senegal still remains a low-income, food-deficit nation. Malnutrition rates are as high as 17% in children under the age of five due to insufficient diets, low levels of literacy and poor sanitation (Human Development Reports 2006). Rural areas see chronic malnutrition twice as high as urban areas. Education is also in need of reform. Even though the Senegalese government has declared education compulsory until age 16, many children do not attend because of distance to schools or lack of sufficient resources at the schools. Even for those that do attend, drop-out rates and illiteracy rates are very high, especially for young girls.

What We Do
The USDA-funded McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program in the eastern Matam region increases school enrollment, attendance and the nutritional health with the donation of hot lunches for more than 15,000 children in 108 primary schools and 21 preschools. Education is the key to this program, which includes a major focus on creating awareness and understanding of health, nutrition, food safety and storage, sanitation, growth monitoring and the importance of school enrollment.

Counterpart International trains Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and teachers on sound nutrition and hygiene, storage, and commodity management. School gardens are constructed; children, teachers and PTA leaders are trained in how to cultivate crops and maintain nutritious food through sound agricultural techniques. Information is distributed to community groups, religious leaders and schools to improve caregiver practices in key areas of health and nutrition, including infant feeding, dietary diversity, proper management of childhood illnesses, self-care during pregnancy and immunizations.

International Food Relief Partnership (IFRP): The USAID-supported IFRP program supports school feeding and maternal and child health and nutrition activities, targeting an additional 2,000 pre-school children and 1,130 pregnant and lactating women with hot, nutritious meals for preschoolers and with take home rations for mothers. The program also supports growth monitoring and promotion and distributes vitamin A and de-worming medicines.

Impacts

• In Matam, more than 450 teachers and school officials and 850 Parent Teacher Association members have received training in nutrition, commodity management, food safety, etc; some 50 latrines have been constructed; and textbooks have been provided.
• In partnership with WFP, UNICEF and local governments, nutritional screening has been conducted of more than 21,000 children who were measured and weighed to calculate regional malnutrition rates. Malnourished children receive locally processed fortified weaning flour, de-worming medicine, iron folate and vitamin A supplements; severely malnourished children are referred to the Therapeutic Nutrition Centers.
• On average, 1,500 mothers receive food every month.
• In collaboration with district management teams, some 94 community health workers, 44 head nurses and 27 preschool teachers —all key to carrying out maternal health and child health activities in 58 sites — have been trained. Health centers receive mats and scales to facilitate aspects of growth monitoring and promotion.