The Essential Package

Basis education is one of the most effective investments in improving economies, lifting families out of poverty and promoting healthy and self-reliant communities. Yet, 100 million children of primary school age are not in school and of those who start school, 150 million drop out before completing five years of basic education. Poor nutrition and health are major obstacles to education. Children who are hungry cannot concentrate and have difficulties in performing complex tasks.

The Essential Package includes:

• Support basic education - improve school infrastructures, help developing curriculum, train teachers, provide school material.
• Food for education - provide on-site school meals to reduce short-term hunger, take-home rations for school children.
• Promotion of girls' education - provide taking home rations to motivate parents to allow girls to attend school, improve separate sanitary facilities for girls and promote female teachers.
• Potable water and sanitary latrines - provide schools with clean water by building wells, installing water pumps and building separate latrines for boys and girls.
• Health, nutrition, and hygiene education - implement education programmes to promote safe hygiene behaviour among children and to spread knowledge and promote appropriate behaviour, attitudes and values on health and nutrition.
• Systematic deworming - launch deworming campaigns at schools combined with health education to promote good hygiene, and adequate access to water and sanitation.
• Micronutrient supplementation - provide school meals and take home rations with foods fortified with micronutrients to improve the nutritional status of micronutrient-deficient school-children.
• HIV and AIDS education - dissemination of information on HIV and Aids prevention, and promote life skills and information needed for young people to protect themselves.
• Psychosocial support - promote a school environment offering social and emotional wellbeing.
• Malaria prevention - promote understanding of malaria, how to prevent it, recognition of symptoms and the need to seek treatment.
• School gardens - school gardens complement school feeding programmes with its production of fresh products while providing a learning opportunity to introduce new ideas about gardening.
• Improved stoves - installation of energy-efficient stoves in schools which can save forest resources normally used as fuel.