On Thursday, March 20, in Yaoundé, the Minister of Basic Education, Professor Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, presided over the ceremony marking the 10th edition, which was themed “A Decade of Food: Celebrating the Past, Ensuring a Just Future.” The ceremony was attended by Professor Marie Thérèse ABENA ONDOA, Minister for the Advancement of Women and the Family; Dr. Taïga, Minister of Livestock, Fisheries, and Animal Industries; Dr. Asheri Kilo, Secretary of State to the Minister of Basic Education; the Governor of the Central Region, Naseri Paul Bea; the Representative and Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Mr. Gianluca Ferrera, as well as members of the diplomatic corps. All speakers emphasized the importance of school canteens, structures that contribute to the well-being and success of students. In his speech, the Minister of Basic Education thanked all technical and financial partners in education, including the World Food Programme for their multifaceted support aimed at improving the quality of education and children’s ability to learn. He also reaffirmed his ministerial department’s commitment to continue working with the relevant sectoral ministries and all its partners to promote school meals based on local products. This collaboration will undoubtedly be decisive in promoting universal access to basic education, among other things, he stressed.
