The Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) recently signed an agreement with the Education for Development Fund (EDF) to support the Laos Government in implementing meal programmes at 16 schools in the Nakai district, Khammuan province. According to the agreement, NTPC has committed to providing 3.2 billion kip over three years.
The aim of this initiative is to improve school attendance and enrolment rates in vulnerable and remote areas of Laos by providing free meals to children. According to the latest National Bulletin published in January 2024 by the World Food Programme Laos (WFP), 33% of children under five in Laos suffer from chronic malnutrition. The school meal provision project also serves as a social safety net for vulnerable families, improving their food and nutrition security for their children.
The financial support that NTPC provides to the School Meals Provision Programme targets three main objectives. Firstly, it will enhance the capacity building of the programme stakeholders and, secondly, improve the sustainability of the programme by implementing model schools. The funding will also promote sustainable school meal provision programmes through the exchange and sharing of experiences between model schools and other participating schools.
The WFP has supported programmes at over 2,000 schools across Vientiane and 13 provinces, initially including 15 schools in the Nakai district, where the reservoir of the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant is located. In 2021, the WFP handed over the school meal provision programmes at 915 schools to the government, including the 15 schools in the Nakai district. Since the handover, the programmes have been operated by local communities with budgets allocated from the government and under the government’s guidance under the National School Meals Programme.
The Nam Theun 2 Development Fund has agreed to contribute to the School Meals Provision Programme, supporting the Laos Government in continuing the National School Meals Programme at 16 schools in the Nakai district starting from 2024.
