Good news for students from different areas of Sindh province, as they will receive free cooked meals and take-home rations.
The Government of Sindh, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, has signed an agreement to provide free cooked meals and take-home rations to more than 200,000 students enrolled in 1,300 government primary schools across the province, according to media reports.
Under the project, students in selected primary schools across Sindh will receive daily cooked meals, along with take-home rations for their families. The program will be implemented in collaboration with Save the Children and the World Food Programme.
Under this project, the United States will provide financial assistance of $80 million through the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.
The agreement-signing ceremony was held at a local hotel in Karachi.
The Sindh government was represented by Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, while Charles Goodman, the US Consul General, signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of the United States.
The ceremony was also attended by Muhammad Khurram Gondal, Country Director of Save the Children Pakistan, and Coco Ushiyama, Country Director of the World Food Programme.
The MoU has been signed between the Government of Sindh, the United States Department of Agriculture, the World Food Programme, and Save the Children.
Education Minister Shah described the initiative as a significant move toward tackling malnutrition and boosting school attendance in the province’s underserved communities. He emphasised that high levels of malnutrition in disadvantaged areas harm children’s health and hinder their academic performance.
Calling it a step toward a brighter future for Sindh, the minister said the programme connects education with proper nutrition and is likely to encourage out-of-school children to return to the classroom.
