ISLAMABAD: Federal and provincial governments pledged to advance coordinated efforts for implementing school meal programmes across Pakistan during a consultation huddle.

The discussions during the two-day consultations, jointly organised by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and the WFP, were substantive and action-oriented.

According to a statement, government representatives reflected a growing national consensus that school meals are not standalone initiatives but a strategic, multi-sectoral investment central to the country’s development agenda.

The consultations, which concluded on Tuesday, built on the first national consultation held in 2022, following Pakistan’s signing of the Global School Meals Coalition, the communique said.

They also served as a key preparatory milestone ahead of the Global School Meals Summit in Brazil this September, it added.

The Balochistan government committed to a significant multi-year budget — details to be confirmed shortly — and presented a detailed action plan, including support for children with special needs.

Punjab pledged to expand school meals to more districts, while Sindh reaffirmed its plans to launch a new school meals programme.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa committed to strengthening its cash-based model and exploring a broader school meals initiative, while Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir announced they were also working to expand their efforts and explore innovative financing solutions.

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar, spoke during the consultation, affirming the government’s commitment to institutionalising school meals as part of the broader education agenda.

“We must scale up programmes nationwide, learn from each other’s experiences and best practices to ensure that every child in Pakistan has access to a daily meal at school. This is not just a programme or a project — it is an investment in our children, our communities, and our country’s prosperous future,” she said.

WFP Country Director for Pakistan, Coco Ushiyama, added, “Not only did this consultation reaffirm that school meals are a powerful, transformative tool to bring children to school, keep them there, and give them a fair chance to learn, grow, and succeed — it also helped secure concrete commitments from provincial and federal representatives for the next five years.”

The participants said investing in school meals is especially critical in the context of Pakistan.

“School meals offer a powerful, multi-sectoral solution — improving children’s nutrition and health, increasing school attendance, enhancing learning outcomes, and easing the financial burden on low-income families,” they said.

Government officials said these efforts closely align with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an education emergency last year, and the urgent national priority to bring every out-of-school child into the classroom. In a written message on the occasion of the consultations, Prime Minister Sharif stated, “With 25 million children out of school and many enrolled students struggling to learn due to hunger and malnutrition, the reality demands urgent action.

By alleviating poverty-related barriers to education, the provision of meals encourages parents to send their children to school, reducing dropout rates and promoting gender equality.”

Representatives from various federal and provincial departments — including education, health, planning and development, and social protection —along with participants from development agencies, the private sector, academia, and non-governmental organisations, took part in the event.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2025