(KPL) The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced the handover of 149 metric tons of canned fish imported from Russia to the Ministry of Education and Sports in Vientiane today.

The donation will be used to cook nutritious lunch for 50,000 primary school students in 13 food insecure districts of northern Lao PDR, as part of the National School Meals Programme.

This shipment of seven containers containing over 607,000 cans of sardines arrived in March this year. Together with 47 metric tons of cooking oil that were delivered in October last year, Russia ties a support package to school meals that marks its ongoing cooperation with the Lao PDR. 

Dr. Phout Simmalavong, Minister of Education and Sports, expressed gratitude for the donation, saying, "The canned fish will provide students in disadvantaged areas of Luang Namtha, Phongsaly and Luang Prabang provinces with important proteins, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of their meals. We appreciate the Russian Federation's support in helping us achieve our goal of ensuring a healthy foundation for successful learning of our children."

Since 2018, Russia has been partnering with WFP to support the Lao government’s efforts in community resilience building and strengthening the National School Meals Programme. This latest contribution is part of a larger commitment from Russia to enhance food security and improve the well-being of children in Laos, worth USD 2 million in total. “The Russian Federation has been attaching great importance to providing economic, humanitarian and social assistance to the Lao PDR, our reliable partner and close friend for 65 years. By donating the food products, we believe that an access to a daily healthy meal for Lao students is a good way to improve their living standards and counter malnutrition. We expect that our assistance will contribute to the joint efforts of the international community to drive economic and social development in the Lao PDR,” said Russian Ambassador to Laos, Vladimir Kalinin.

“Over more than two decades, the National School Meals Programme has been instrumental in improving school attendance and academic performance by ensuring that students receive at least one nutritious meal each day. While we are working on establishing a reliable local food supply chain for school meals, we are thankful for food donations in areas that are challenged by high malnutrition rates and seasonal food insecurity,” said Marc-André Prost, WFP Representative and Country Director.

KPL