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afrol News, 23 March - The UN's food agency, WFP, this year is set to assist feeding a total of 78,764 school children in Cape Verde. Although there are no food emergencies in the country, food security is so low that WFP assistance to the national school feeding programme is seen necessary to maintain school attendance. In line with the Cape Verdean government’s education policy, WFP’s support through this project will help to combat short-term hunger among primary and pre-primary school pupils from poor families. It builds on achievements from the previous project, being "high attendance rates, low drop-out and repetition rates and gender equity." - The beneficiaries of the project include 69,500 boys and girls from 350 primary schools and 12,000 boys and girls from 280 pre-primary schools, WFP informs in its latest update of "Projected Needs". The education sector has been given high priority by Prime Minister José Maria Neves. Classified as a least developed country, Cape Verde’s food security is precarious, WFP holds. Cereal production usually covers less than 20 percent of overall cereal needs in years of good rainfall. "The geographical and climatic situation of the country, the scarcity of arable land and drinking water, the high rate of population growth and the lack of employment in rural areas result in very high pressure on natural resources as well as soil degradation." According to the latest World Bank survey, over 30 percent of the population live below the poverty line and 14 percent live in absolute poverty, affecting mainly women and in particular unwed mothers. According to the UN agency, the "insufficient level of agricultural production, as well as the rate of unemployment and poverty of the people, directly affect pre-school and school-age children, who in the vast majority, go to pre-school centres or to school without breakfast." Micro-nutrient deficiencies commonly affect many school-age children. In this context, WFP provides support through school feeding programmes in over 500 primary and pre-primary schools in Cape Verde and complements the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty through education. The WFP programme "Assistance to primary and pre-primary school canteens" is approved for a duration of 4 years, through September 2004. Total commitment is set to 10,832 tonnes of cereals, oil, pulses and other food products
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