Envoys&Expats French govt to boost health care, aid school kids’ feeding program

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome & Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Led by France and Finland, more than 75 countries have joined the “School Meals Coalition” global initiative that aims for all children to have access to healthy and nutritious meals in schools by 2030. This was announced by French minister for development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou during her two-day visit to the country.

The two European countries have partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP) to help the Philippines solve nutritional problems of local school children. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund or Unicef, 1 out of 3 Filipino children below 5 years old are stunted due to malnutrition.

“The question of nutrition is very important, and we know very well that all around the world, there is a problem: children…don’t go to school because they have to also work,” the minister said in a news conference to cap her Manila visit. “Also, they don’t have access to [schooling because of missed meals].”

The Philippine government has joined the coalition’s grand ambition to feed all Filipino school children with nutritious meals by 2030. The Department of Education also recently embarked on a school-based feeding program which gives iron-fortified rice, while tapping local farmers for their produce.

“This coalition, guided by France and Finland with the WFP, is very important because we need to use everything to give access to food to the children,” said Zacharopoulou, who is also France’s minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships.

She said France is also working with Philippine technical experts in drawing a road map for the Philippine food security, agriculture and nutrition.

Zacharopoulou—a medical doctor by profession and former co-chair of the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access or COVAX Facility Shareholders Council—also met with Health

Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, as they spoke about helping the Philippine government develop vaccines and fight cancer.

Aside from her, the French side was led by Ambassador Michele Boccoz, Deputy Head of Mission Rémy Tirouttouvarayane, Scientific Cooperation Attaché Quentin Spooner. With Herbosa on the Department of Health’s (DOH) part was Chief of Staff-Undersecretary Dr. Gloria Balboa and Undersecretary Dr. Lilibeth David.

The health secretary thanked the French delegation for their unwavering support to the country, especially for its aid in the country’s Covid-19 response.

The two parties then proceeded to discuss capacity-building initia-