School Feeding in Republic of Congo: More than Just Rice and Beans

ROSALIE KAMA-NIAMAYOUA

Minister of Education, Republic of Congo

Introduction by:

RACHEL ONUSKA

Assistant Country Director, IPHD CONGO

• Transition Period – SUMMARY of Transition Plan – STEPS leading to – OBSERVATIONS from YR1

• IMPACTS of SLP in Congo

• Conclusion

Presentation Overview

School Feeding in Congo: LOCATION

SLP 2002 to 2011As of May 1 2012, 105,000 students

SLP started Nov 201230,000 students

SLP start October 20126,150 students

School Feeding Congo: TRANSITION TIMELINE

• November 2008 – 6 member SLP Transition Team formed and began meetings. – Local food procurement– SLP eligibility for RoC funding– Request USDA to continue SLP for another 3 years

while groundwork get put in place.

• September 2010 – Congolese government approved a School Feeding Sustainability Plan.

• September 2010- Transition Plan developed for IPHD’s current McGovern-Dole Program.

School Feeding Congo: Transition Plan

USDA RoC TOTAL2011/2012 Year 1 110,000* 30,0002012/2013 Year 2 110,000 30,0002013/2014 Year 3 70,000 70,0002014/2015 Year 4 30,000 110,0002015/2016 Year 5 0 140,000

* Food just arrived, will only cover May 1 thru June 15 of this year

Participating Students (377 Schools)Timeline

140,000

RoC Financial Contribution

2011/2012 $4,500,0002012/2013 $6,100,000

TOTAL $10,600,000

School Year

School Feeding Congo: STEPS leading to the Transition Period

National LevelSchool Level

The STEPs: School Level

• Local Contribution

• PTAs – over 450 trained

Community Involvement

The STEPs: School LevelMore than Just Rice and Beans

Schools StudentsSchool Rehabilitations 101 33,141School Construction 2 1,000Cistern Installation 35 16,612Malaria Prevention Program 274 359,304School Gardens 32 9,600Plays/Radio Broadcasts/Comic Books 0 20,000

Distributions Units StudentsVitamin A 90,089 90,089Mbendazole 153,810 153,810Mosquito Nets 109,232 109,232Mosquito Net Treatments 10,000 10,000Reading and Math Textbooks 116,304 116,304Malaria Prevention Manuals 5,502 972,784

Complementary Activities

TOTAL

BENEFICIARIES

The STEPs: School Level

• Satellite office in almost every region• Monthly school visits

Consistent Monitoring

The STEPs: National LevelGovernment Involvement

Clear Expectations

National Parent Teacher Associations

Data Sharing

School Feeding Congo: OBSERVATIONS FROM YR1

• Feeding 30,000 students locally –Locally-purchased imported commodities–Consistent quantity and quality of

commodities available–High cost of beans • $102-$118 per 100lbs. ($2,234-$2,600

per MT)

School Feeding Congo: Experiences from YEAR 1

• Monotonous Menu

Do you think we could ever have something else besides rice and beans?

School Feeding Congo: Putting “LOCAL” into Local Food Purchases

• IPHD partnership with local farm cooperative and Ministry of Agriculture

• GOAL for 2013/2014: – Local food purchases

will be produced in Congo

– School Lunch Menu will be diversified

IMPACTS of School Feeding in Congo

Why is Republic of Congo interested in School Feeding?

• Enrollment• Attendance

• Minority Groups• Student Malaria

• Post-Conflict Recovery• Government/NGO Partnerships

SLP Impact: ENROLLMENT

23.8% increase in enrollment in first four years of SLP

SLP 2002 to 2011

First Year with SLP

SLP start next school year

9.7% increase in enrollment in first year

50% decrease in dropouts compared to schools without a SLP

SLP Impact: ATTENDANCE RATES

12.9% increase in attendance rates from start of SLP until last school year

SLP 2002 to 2011

First Year with SLP

SLP start next school year

1.4% increase in attendance rates in first year

SLP Impact: MINORITY GROUPS

• 35 Babongo (Pygmy) students enrolled before SLP

• 737 enrolled after 4 years of SLP

LEKOUMOU

Hoping to see similar impacts in Sangha

SANGHA

2006 Study • 1000 randomly selected schools • 500 SLP schools • 500 non-SLP schools

• Each southern region represented

• Cause of absenteeism tracked for the 2006/2007 school year

SLP Impact: DECREASED STUDENT MALARIA

SLP schools had a 66% reduction in absenteeism due to malaria

• 71% of students in SLP schools owned a mosquito net

• 31% of students in non-SLP schools a owned mosquito net

SLP Impact: POST-CONFLICT RECOVERY

• 2002 SLP was first major injection of resources into primary education system since the 1999 civil war.

• As small conflicts ebbed and flowed after the civil war, the school lunch program was a consistent social safety net for the Southern Regions.

SLP Impact: GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

Road impassable by heavy trucks

Railway only shipping option

POINTE NOIRE

BRAZZAVILLE

CONGO TRANSPORT 2001 to 2006

• Ministry of Education– Participating School selection, in the field SLP evaluations,

development of malaria prevention manuals, layed framework for SLP transition within government

• Ministry of Foreign Affaires– IPHD given diplomatic status March 2007

• Ministry of Finance – Dramatic improvement in tax exemption and timeliness of release of

goods from the port

• Ministry of Agriculture – Partnership for Local Food Production

• Four out of nine IPHD warehouses and 2 out of 8 IPHD offices were provided by various ministries of the government.

SLP Impact: GOVERNMENT/IPHD PARTNERSHIP

Conclusion