AKIPRESS.COM - The U.S. government, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated over 1 billion som to support healthy nutrition for children -- the future of the Kyrgyz Republic -- in schools and kindergartens throughout the Kyrgyz Republic, the US Embassy said. 

The key objective of this program is to improve nutrition and literacy and primary education.

By providing school meals, teacher training and related support, these projects boost school enrollment and academic performance. At the same time, the program also focuses on improving children’s health and learning capacity before they enter school by offering nutrition programs for pregnant and nursing women, infants and preschoolers. Sustainability is an important aspect of the program; NGO Mercy Corps and implementer Save the Children work to ensure that the communities served by the program can ultimately continue the sponsored activities on their own or with support from other sources such as the host government or local community.

This U.S. government program will provide Kyrgyzstani pupils and children with enriched wheat, rice and butter to schools, kindergartens and orphanages across the Kyrgyz Republic. The products will be included in the lunches of hundreds of thousands of pupils of children’s institutions.

The official launch of the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition 2017-2021 will take place on February 6 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.