Remarks at School Meals Coalition Signing Ceremony

Excellency, Dr. Phout Simmalavong, Minister of Education and Sports

Marc-Andre Prost, Country Director, World Food Programme

Representatives from Line Ministries

Development partners, UN colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is an honor for me to speak today on the occasion of Lao PDR joining the global School Meals Coalition. Emerging from the Food Systems Summit in 2021, several Governments came together to form this coalition. In a short span of time, it has grown in membership and influence, now counting about 100 countries as members. Led by Brazil, Finland and France, the coalition aims to ensure that by 2030 every child worldwide receives a healthy meal in school.

Three compelling ideas underpin the coalition’s work globally:

• First, that school meals are a powerful and cost-effective way to drive progress towards transforming food systems and to accelerate progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals;
• Second, that school meals are investment-worthy, with international studies estimating a return of US$ 8 for every dollar invested;
• And third, that school meals have the potential to create jobs and markets for local and smallholder farmers. When combined with efforts to produce food sustainably, organically and locally, they help meet key environmental goals, as well.

It’s a win-win-win for all concerned – students, households, education systems, businesses, economies and the environment – provided that enabling policies and programmes are in place. Societies benefit in the long-term as well – through healthier populations, better education outcomes and, ultimately, competitive economies.

The leadership of Governments for these efforts is absolutely vital. Globally, the School Meals Coalition is headed by respective Governments, with the backing of 129 partners, including NGOs, academia, foundations and multilateral organizations.

I am proud to say that the United Nations system has given its support for the coalition early on and at the highest level, with FAO, IFAD, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and UN Nutrition all becoming its members. WFP acts as the Secretariat of the Coalition.

Much like the Sustainable Development Goals, an important feature of the School Meals Coalition is that it is not about low-income countries only. Many high and middle-income countries see school-based nutrition as a priority, and are working on improving their school meal programs.

This is truly a priority that unites countries irrespective of their development status, and creates a powerful partnership platform.

Through national commitments, member countries can determine their own priorities, guiding national implementation efforts with support from a broad coalition of partners.

The Lao PDR Human Capital Summit held in June of this year placed nutrition firmly as a cross-sectoral issue that must be tackled from many sectoral angles in order to ensure that children grow up healthy and realize their full potential. In that regard, school meals drive progress on nutrition, while providing an important safety net for families struggling with food insecurity.

By becoming the 101st country member of the School Meals Coalition, Lao PDR is showcasing its strong leadership and commitment to school meals on a global platform.

This is a crucial development and a proud moment for many of us, especially as we look towards the Summit of the Future in just over 2 weeks, and the next Food Systems’ Stocktaking Moment in 2025 as a follow-up to the original Food Systems Summit.

In wishing this initiative great success, let me assure our partners of the UN System’s committed support for this important cause.