Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
The Royal Government of Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, and the Philippines, with WFP support, co-hosted a Southeast Asia School Meals Coalition Summit to establish a regional network focused on school meals and collaboration by sharing evidence-based strategies, governance models, and financing mechanisms. The summit recognized school meals as a key social protection scheme for better nutrition, education, livelihoods, and resilience. The Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister announced the intent to anchor the School Meals Coalition into the ASEAN framework as a long-term regional priority.
Operational Updates
Nutrition
• To maximize the nutritional content of the school meals, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS), with WFP’s support, is incorporating fortified rice into nationally governed schools in Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, and Kampong Chhnang. These efforts aim to improve the nutrition of 80,000 schoolchildren by decreasing micronutrient deficiencies.
Social Protection
Shock-Responsive Social Protection
• The National Social Protection Council (NSPC), with WFP's technical support, developed the Shock Responsive Social Protection operational plan as a cross-ministry effort. The plan, covering programme design, delivery systems, data and information systems, finance, and policy and institutions, aims to enhance the country's resilience to shocks, including floods and droughts.
It is scheduled for approval by the NSPC executive committee next month and will then be rolled out.
Institutionalizing the National School Meals Programme
• As part of the transition strategy towards sustainability, the Cambodian Government took over an additional 133 schools within the school feeding programme, bringing the total number of government-owned schools to over 60 percent of the programme schools. Moreover, the government allocated US$7.4 million for the national programme for the 2024-2025 school year, marking a substantial increase in food rations for over 190,000 students across 686 schools.
• To enhance school meal delivery and procurement efficiency, WFP partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to develop a framework that establishes a stable supply-demand linkage, sourcing at least 70 percent of vegetables and protein from local producers. A key component of this framework is the Market Linkage Dialogue model, which strengthens connections between schools, suppliers, and farmers, while extending the benefits of school meals to local food system actors and producers. By integrating agricultural cooperatives into the programme, the model aims to improve procurement practices, enhance food traceability, and support local agriculture. This approach will be expanded across eight districts and 24 communes in 2025.
• WFP completed the evaluation of the KOICA-supported school meals programme (2020-2024), highlighting its strong alignment with national strategies by contributing to food security, education, and economic development. Key achievements include increased student satisfaction, higher school enrolment, strengthened government capacity, stable incomes for farmers and enhanced women’s roles in farming and trade.
While challenges like meal quality and procurement efficiency remain, the programme is well-positioned for a successful transition to full national ownership with further investment and technical support.
Food Systems
• WFP and the Cambodia Agriculture Cooperative Corporation (CACC) completed the construction of a warehouse and the installation of drying facilities in Mondulkiri to provide post-harvest management support to local farmers. This facility, spanning 12 ha, features a storage capacity of 5,000 mt and a drying capacity of 150 mt of paddy daily. Starting from 2025, this infrastructure will improve rice collection, storage, and distribution to both local and international markets, benefiting small-scale farmers, especially indigenous communities engaged in organic and sustainable rice farming.
• The Council for Agriculture and Rural Development launched a new initiative, supported by WFP, FAO, and UNICEF through SDG-funds, to strengthen food systems for better nutrition, resilience and gender equality. The programme focuses on updating the 2030 Food Systems Roadmap, with the development of an action plan and financing strategy to ensure sustainable funding. Advocacy tools will be used to enhance communication and mobilize resources aligned with roadmap priorities.
Disaster Risk Management
• WFP supported relevant government counterparts, including NCDM and NSPC with the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning for disaster risk management and social protection planning and budgeting. This technical support included the launching of the Disaster Risk Assessment, which uses these approaches for advanced risk analysis down to the commune level to inform targeted disaster planning, budgeting, and preparedness efforts to enhance the nation's resilience against intensifying natural hazards.