U.S. Ambassador to Guinea Dennis Hankins and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Michelle Godette, along with United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country representative, Elisabeth Faure, and Government of Guinea representatives visited a Food for Peace School Meals site in Boke, Guinea on January 22.
As part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to support the economic recovery of Guinea in the aftermath of the Ebola Virus Disease, in March, 2015, the U.S. Government, through USAID provided $7.1 million as part of its cooperative program with WFP.
As a result, WFP made its largest ever purchase of locally-produced rice, supporting local agricultural production and providing children with meals in 710 schools across Guinea.
Through the program 1,258 metric tons of locally-produced parboiled rice was purchased from four providers in N’Zerekore, Kankan, Boke and Conakry. Local purchases help build agricultural markets for locally produced rice and support long term food security.
Additionally, farmers learn about the tendering process, how to bid for contracts, how to work with development partners, and are able to build relationships with banks in order to access extended credit at favorable rates.
The emergency school feeding program works in areas most affected by Ebola, providing daily hot meals to school children and take-home rations of vegetable oil to girls. The goals of the program are twofold: to meet emergency food security needs and to incentivize parents to send their children, especially girls, back to recently reopened schools.
The United States is proud to work with Guinea and its international partners to give Guinea schoolchildren the food assistance they need to play their part in building a prosperous future for Guinea and the region.