(KPL)The government of Switzerland announced early October its support towards climate-resilient and sustainable approaches to cooking healthy meals for students in 120 schools across Phongsaly and Oudomxay provinces in the north of Laos.

The initiative supports the Ministry of Education and Sports’ National School Meals Programme and will be implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), ensuring improved access to nutritious school meals for over 12,000 children while empowering rural smallholder farmers, particularly women.

Through a five-pronged approach, the project focuses on supporting sustainable agriculture, improving access to water, promoting women's economic empowerment, upgrading school infrastructure and building the government’s capacity to manage the programme effectively.

“For more than two decades, the Lao government has been working on building a coherent National School Meals Programme. Impressive progress has been made, but challenges persist, in particular insufficient funds to sustainably operate the programme, inadequate access to water and the lack of a supply chain of locally produced food. Addressing these challenges requires a multisectoral approach”, said Naoki Maegawa, WFP Country Director a.i. This generous contribution from the Government of Switzerland is another step forward. Building on recent achievements to link local farmers to school meals, this initiative places greater emphasis on climate-smart agriculture and sustainable farming practices.”

“Sustaining the Lao PDR’s school meals programme through climate-smart agriculture offers a powerful model by improving smallholder farmers' livelihoods, while contributing to the nutrition and education of the next generation. This approach not only addresses immediate food security needs but also strengthens communities’ capacity to adapt to climate change,” said Jean-Gabriel Duss, Regional Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in the Mekong region.

Since its inception in 2002, the Lao PDR’s school meals programme has played a vital role in reducing educational disparities and improving nutrition outcomes in the Lao PDR, thanks to support from donors and development partners.

In 2024, the Lao PDR reinforced it is commitment to this mission by joining the School Meals Coalition, an international alliance of more than 100 countries and 130 partners, dedicated to ensure every child has access to a nutritious meal.

Switzerland’s contribution represents a critical step in realizing the government’s vision of universal coverage for school meals across all government schools by 2030, fostering a more inclusive and climate-resilient future for the Lao PDR.

KPL