United Nations: More than 39 billion school meals have been lost in the world since the beginning of the pandemic due to the closure of schools, and today there is a risk of a nutritional crisis, Prensa Latina publishes.
Thus warns a joint report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP), which details how these losses affected some 370 million children globally.
Many of these minors often rely on school meals as a key source of their daily nutrition, the report emphasizes.
Despite clear evidence that schools are not the main drivers of Covid-19 infections, millions of children are facing the closure of such centers around the world, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.
Many children depend on schools for their daily meals, and now they are losing not only their education but also a reliable source of nutrition, she stressed.
As the Covid-19 pandemic is responded to and the distribution of vaccines is expected, it is urgent to prioritize the reopening of schools and take measures to make it as safe as possible with access to sanitary facilities such as soap and water, Fore said.
According to estimates by UN agencies, 24 million school-age children are at risk of dropping out of educational institutions due to the pandemic, reversing much of the progress made in recent decades.
Missing nutritious school meals endangers the future of millions of poor children around the world, WFP Executive Director David Beasley stressed.
“We risk losing an entire generation?, he stressed.
In addition, Beasley called on governments to reopen schools safely and begin offering food to millions of infants again.
For many, he stressed, the nutritious food they receive at school is the only one they will receive all day.
UNICEF and WFP urged governments to prioritize the reopening of schools while ensuring that the health, food and nutrition needs of minors are met through comprehensive and high-quality school meals.