Capacity Development in the Framework of the School Feeding Programme

This operation has been modified as per budget revision 4 (see below)

This technical assistance project addresses the Tunisian Government’s request to establish a partnership to support a review of its school feeding programme. The project aims to strengthen national capacities to implement a high-quality and sustainable school feeding programme in Tunisia. The national school feeding programme is managed by the Ministry of Education, and is one of the mandates of the 2002 educational reform legislation. Its objective is to improve access to schooling for children in the most destitute households, to reduce drop-outs – due mainly to the distance between schools and children’s homes – and to increase children’s attention spans by alleviating immediate hunger. The project contributes to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2 and 3.

WFP technical assistance is organized around WFP’s standards for the design and implementation of high-quality, sustainable school feeding programmes: alignment with national policies, stable funding mechanisms, sufficient management and coordination capacity, sound design and implementation, and community participation. Designed in the context of Strategic Objective 5 of the WFP Strategic Plan (2008–2013), this project is in line with the WFP school feeding policy.

This 13-month project will begin on 1 December 2012 and include three main phases: a review of the national school feeding programme; sharing of experiences with the heads of school feeding programmes in Brazil and other countries; and the development of a national school feeding strategy. An international expert and a national officer will be responsible for coordinating and managing the project.

--------------------------

Budget Revision 4 to the DEV 200493 extends the project for three years until 30 June 2018. The purpose is to provide continued assistance in the design and implementation of a renewed school feeding program based upon the Tunisian Sustainable School Feeding Strategy developed with WFP’s technical assistance during the first phase of the project.