China donates food to Karamoja schools

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The Chinese Government has donated 1,480 metric tonnes of beans and maize plus 152 metric tonnes of cooking oil, all valued at sh7.6b to feed all school children in Karamoja sub-region for the next term, 2024.

The Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong, handed over the symbolic donation to the World Food Programme (WFP) country representative, Abdiramhman Meygag, at a function attended by the state minister for primary education, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, at the WFP head office, Clement Hill Road, Kampala, on April 24, 2024.

State minister for primary education Dr. Joyce Kaducu speaks to the ambassador of China to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong (L), and the WFP country director, Abdirahman Meygag. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

The ambassador said, “In addition, to ease the food situation in Karamoja, a new batch of emergency food assistance valued over $2m (sh7.6b) is under discussion between the embassy and the Government of Uganda.” 

According to Lizhong, the donation will at least benefit over 165,300 children in 315 schools from nine districts of Karamoja and was part of the ‘rapid response’ to the urgent request recently made by the Government of Uganda to manage the food security in the region.

“The donation is also an implementation to the commitment by the President (of the People’s Republic of China), Xi Jinping made at the China-Africa Leaders’ dialogue in Johannesburg in 2023. He announced that to help Africa tackle the current food crisis, China will provide additional emergency food assistance to African countries in need,” Lizhong said.

According to Lizhong, the donation will at least benefit over 165,300 children in 315 schools from nine districts of Karamoja and was part of the ‘rapid response’ to the urgent request recently made by the Government of Uganda to manage the food security in the region.

The donation was the third food assistance to Karamoja in cooperation with WFP and the government of Uganda.

In 2018, China donated 6,000 metric tons of food worth $5m to Uganda through the WFP and it benefited more than 200,000 people, mostly school children in Karamoja. In 2021, another assistance worth $2m was given out by China and it benefited more than 120,000 children in 300 schools in Karamoja.

“China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $2trillion in this period. Large-scale infrastructure projects, aided or participated in by China, including railroads, highways, ports, and electrical infrastructure, continuously benefit the African people,” he told the journalists.

The Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong (4th R), the World Food Program country representative, Abdirahman Meygag (C), and the state minister for primary education, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu hold hands at the World Food Program head office along Clement Hill road in Kampala ON April 24, 2024 as the Chinese Government donated food worth over sh7.6b through World Food Program to schools in Karamoja for term two.

In addition, he said, China had dispatched about 9,000 medical personnel and provided more than 100,000 training opportunities to African countries.

Dr. Kaducu commended the Chinese Government for the donation, saying that every child has the right to learn, to be healthy, to thrive, and realize their full potential.
She said every child needed to access diverse, safe, and nutritious food.

“School feeding generates lasting impact and is a major investment in both human capital and in local economy” she explained, adding that beyond the meals, schools are the ‘perfect place to help children acquire relevant knowledge, skills and positive behaviors for nutrition, hygiene, and health.

The WFP country director, Abdirahman Meygag remarks.

They then apply these at home and in their communities, which she said would shape the children to be healthier and more productive members of society in the future and agents of change and development.

According to the minister, the Government has implemented Universal Primary and Secondary education intending to foster human capital development as a prerequisite to the eradication of hunger and poverty.

She however said despite this, about 53% of primary school children drop out of school by Primary Seven, while the lower secondary enrollment rate stands at 24%.

A World Food Program remarks upon receiving the donation.

Dr. Kaducu said the Government acknowledges the significance of school meals on intellectual development, school performance, and achievement.   

Meygag commended the Chinese Government, saying the donation to the ‘School Meals Program in Karamoja’ was instrumental in sustaining their food program in Karamoja.

He noted that the donation is directly impacting the lives of countless children, especially girls, by keeping them in school and protecting them from various social challenges.

The Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong (L), the World Food Program country representative, Abdirahman Meygag (R), and the state minister for primary education, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu (C) hold some of the gifts they received at the World Food Program head office along Clement Hill road in Kampala on April 24, 2024.

Currently, he explained that WFP provides a daily hot meal to over 210,000 children from 315 schools in Karamoja, and through these school meals, WFP was creating a pathway to a brighter future for the vulnerable children in the sub-region.

He explained, “We have witnessed children who previously benefited from the school feeding program become senior government officials, doctors, and entrepreneurs”.

WFP has programs also directly linking school meals to local agriculture, which, the country representative said, had led to a steady increase in food purchased from smallholder farmers along with deliberate efforts to encourage better agricultural production and post-harvest practices.