Finland along with France and Brazil will co-chair the Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition scheduled to be held in Fortaleza, Brazil on Thursday and Friday.
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will represent Finland in the summit, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Tuesday.
Launched in 2021, the School Meals Coalition is a global initiative led by Finland, Brazil and France. The Coalition has already 109 member countries and over 140 partners. Its goal is for all schoolchildren worldwide to have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school by 2030.
“Finland has a history of providing school meals dating back about 75 years, and we know that school meals foster learning, health, and gender equality and promote local food business. We’re sharing our experiences with countries setting up school meal programmes and letting them know what Finnish businesses can offer in this sector,” said Tavio in the press release.
President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will inaugurate the summit. Brazil is hosting the summit, which will be attended by 80 member countries and 56 partners, including representatives of UN agencies, civil society organisations, cities and municipalities and the academic world.
The summit aims to strengthen the commitment of countries and partners and to promote school meals around the world. The Coalition encourages countries to expand and invest in their school meal programmes.
According to the latest figures, 466 million children now have access to school meals – a 20 per cent increase on 2020.
The increase has been especially prominent among low-income countries. Funding for school meals has also doubled globally, with most funding coming from national budgets. The School Meals Coalition has accelerated this positive change.
The Coalition’s first ministerial meeting was held in Helsinki in autumn 2022.
- Finland
- School
- Meal
- Summit
- Co-Chair
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
