World Food Programme marks first anniversary of cooperation agreement with Venezuela
CARACAS – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) marks today the first anniversary of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to establish its presence in the country.
This agreement allowed WFP to initiate a food assistance operation to reach the most vulnerable people through a school meals programme that is supporting more than 120,000 people.
"We are very pleased to be able to provide this support focusing on schools, their children and educational staff," said Laura Melo, WFP Representative in Venezuela. "We are currently supporting more than 1,000 schools through the monthly delivery of a basket of nutritious food, and we continue to advance our coverage as established with the Venezuelan government in the agreement we signed a year ago," she added.
The WFP school meals programme in Venezuela began in the state of Falcon in July 2021 and is now also covering the states of Barinas, Trujillo and Yaracuy. Preparations are underway to add the states of Anzoátegui, Monagas Delta Amacuro and Sucre between May and June.
WFP's food assistance in Venezuela is aimed primarily at children between 6 months and 6 years of age enrolled in preschools, for student in schools for people with special needs, and school personnel in educational institutions: administrators, teachers, cooks and workers. The target is to reach 1.5 million people by the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
In June of this year, WFP will also start the rehabilitation of school kitchens in prioritized schools so that hot meals can be served to students once on-site classes begin.
WFP's operations are guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence, which is why it will continue to operate in Venezuela to expand its reach and coverage to the most vulnerable areas of the country.
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