Projects — Senegal
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition
promise
Counterpart improved health and education in Senegal through the USDA Food for Education program since 2001. Our previous program provided 4.5 million meals to 25,000 children in 174 schools throughout the Matam region, dramatically improving school enrollment and retention rates, especially among girls. This program expanded on these results in the St. Louis region, focusing on nutrition, health, and literacy. The program worked directly with parents, schools, community members, and government agencies by:
- Increased student nutrition and attendance by providing two daily meals at school
- Established sustainable community farms and granaries
- Improved school infrastructure by constructing classrooms and latrines and by providing water stations and energy-efficient stoves
- Strengthened the capacity of school administrators and teachers to improve and standardize teaching methods
- Trained parent-teacher associations and other community members on the value of education, good nutrition, preventative healthcare, and safe food preparation and storage practices
impact
To date, Counterpart and our partners in the St. Louis region have:
- Distributed more than 15 million meals to more than 45,000 students
- Constructed 30 fully-equipped classrooms and 24 latrines
- Distributed 330 energy saving cook stoves and 270 handwashing stations
- Increased by nearly 20% the number of primary school children reading at appropriate level
- Trained 1,249 teachers on the revised School Health, Nutrition, and Environment Guide
- Established 256 granaries and 20 community farms
- Harvested 129,246 pounds of rice, tomatoes, okra, onions, peanuts, watermelon, and cabbage
- Planted 6,675 moringa trees in 267 schools
- Provided deworming medication to 90,726 children
partners
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Our stories
Bringing together experts and activists
We’re touching lives in communities around the world. Read more to find out how.
Story
March 2024
In many countries around the world, school lunch is the only meal that children in low-income communities can reliably count on. Today, on International School Meals Day, it is important...
Story
February 2024
Kathryn Lane, the chief of party of our USDA McGovern-Dole school feeding project in Senegal, was interviewed by ITV Senegal’s Assane Gueye about the project’s integrated approach to education, nutrition,...
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Project
Active
2018-2026
The USDA McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program in Senegal - Sukaabe Janngo (Children of Tomorrow) - continues to build stronger systems to ensure that future Senegalese children will benefit from a wholistic set of activities that support healthy families and students with improved academic performance.
Project
2018-2021
Counterpart International implemented two USDA funded projects in Saint Louis, Senegal to support the goal of ensuring that School Management Committees can serve as a sustainable pathway to Community Led School Feeding.