The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the World Food Programme (WFP) aimed at sustaining and strengthening the National School Feeding Programme through 2028.
The agreement, covering the period 2026 to 2028, represents another step toward Liberia's transition to greater national ownership of school feeding, with the government expected to assume increasing responsibility for the programme's planning, financing and implementation.
Under the new partnership, WFP will continue providing technical and institutional support to strengthen the systems needed to ensure that school feeding becomes more sustainable and effectively managed by the Liberian Government.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Education Minister Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah stressed the importance of school meals to children's education and overall development.
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Minister Jallah noted that providing regular meals at school can help increase enrollment, improve attendance and retention, and enable children to remain focused on their studies.
She emphasized that school feeding should not be viewed simply as a welfare intervention but as an important investment in education and human capital development.
According to the Minister, ensuring that children have access to nutritious meals while at school can help reduce barriers that prevent some students from attending classes regularly.
The new agreement also places increased emphasis on technology, monitoring and accountability.
Minister Jallah disclosed plans to expand the School Connect digital platform to more than 300 schools as part of efforts to improve the monitoring of school feeding activities.
The expansion is expected to provide authorities with more timely information on programme implementation and strengthen transparency and accountability in the delivery of meals to students.
The digital platform is intended to support real-time monitoring and enable the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to better track school feeding activities across participating schools.
WFP Country Director Dr. Agbessi Komla Amewoa described the agreement as the official launch of the 2026/2027 school feeding programme, reaffirming the agency's commitment to supporting Liberia's efforts to strengthen the initiative.
The partnership comes as Liberia continues efforts to build stronger national systems capable of sustaining essential social programmes with reduced dependence on external implementation.
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Through the new arrangement, the Government is expected to take on a greater role in determining priorities, mobilizing resources and managing the delivery of school meals, while WFP provides technical expertise and institutional support.
The agreement is also expected to strengthen coordination between government institutions and development partners involved in education, nutrition and child welfare.
For Liberia, the transition toward national ownership is seen as an important step in ensuring that school feeding remains a reliable component of the country's education system.
The programme is particularly significant for vulnerable children and communities where household economic conditions can make it difficult for families to consistently provide nutritious meals for school-going children.
The Government and WFP are therefore expected to use the 2026-2028 partnership to strengthen financing mechanisms, improve programme monitoring and build institutional capacity.
With the planned expansion of School Connect and increased government responsibility for the programme, the new agreement is expected to provide a stronger foundation for ensuring that school meals reach intended beneficiaries efficiently and transparently.
The partnership ultimately seeks to move Liberia closer to a school feeding system that is nationally owned, sustainably financed, effectively monitored and capable of supporting improved access to education and better learning outcomes for Liberian children.
