Paulo Beraldo
Brasília, Brazil, November 13, 2024 – Six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean – Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic – have completed the first phase of an analysis on school feeding programme progress (called AMPAE), an action led by the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES).
RAES is a trilateral South-South cooperation initiative developed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE) of the Ministry of Education, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which serves as the network’s executive secretariat.
AMPAE is an innovative initiative aimed at strengthening school feeding programmes (SFP) through objective and transparent international cooperation criteria, aligned with the realities and sovereignty of each participating country. The study is set to be completed in the coming months, and additional countries will have the opportunity to join the initiative in 2025.
This analysis will allow countries to assess the critical components of their school feeding programmes, identifying both progress made and remaining challenges to improve the effectiveness of program implementation. The initiative is based on an experience developed in Brazil, adapted to the regional context of SFP. The original tool evaluated the financial management maturity of governments, ensuring legality and accountability in public administration and the optimization of spending.
The AMPAE’s main objectives include:
- Providing input for a regional school feeding agenda that reflects the unique realities and needs of each country in the region.
- Monitoring progress indicators and specific achievements in each participating country, enabling continuous tracking of program development.
- Identifying priority areas at national and regional levels to guide new actions and joint efforts.
- Directing RAES technical support to enhance the effectiveness of PAE and strengthen the sustainability of achieved progress.
“With this diagnostic tool, RAES, together with these six countries participating in the activity in 2024, seeks to contribute to knowledge building and generate inputs to strengthen school feeding programmes at both national and regional levels,” says Najla Veloso, coordinator of the project Sustainable Regional School Feeding Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean.
