In January 2020, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched its new strategy in support of school health and nutrition for the school children of the world. One month later COVID-19 emerged and within weeks became a pandemic that led to 1.6 billion school children being excluded from schools globally by March 2020. School health and nutrition were always important for the growth and development of school children, but in this new COVID world they are even more important. This is a call to action: for governments, partners and WFP staff to help countries now to maintain care and support for the out-of-school children, and next to use school health and nutrition programmes as a key incentive for families to send their children back to school, and to build back schools better.
