Aregbesola addresses UK parliament on ‘O-meals’ today

All is now set at the United Kingdom’s House of Commons where the Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, will today (Wednesday), address a high level gathering of British parliamentarians and leading experts on the importance and effects of his administration’s school feeding programme, popularly referred to as ‘O-Meals’.
Aregbesola, who was invited by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Agriculture and Food for Development and the Partnership for Child Development (PCD), Imperial College London, will use the opportunity to make a ten-minute presentation on ‘O-Meals’ as a supportive tool for educational and agricultural development.
In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, office of the Osun State Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, noted that an electronic statement released by Frank Peel, the Communications Officer of Francis Peel of the Partnership for Child Development (PCD), Imperial College, London, is to show the importance of the feeding programme.
The statement also added that the gathering would feature the participation of development experts that will focus on “the evolution and improvement of government-led Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programmes in low and middle income countries”
The statement explained that, “these programmes have the potential to bring countries closer to the UN Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty and hunger, and ensuring universal primary education by 2015.
He added that appropriately designed school feeding programmes have been shown to increase access to education and learning, and improve children’s health and nutrition, especially when integrated into comprehensive school health and nutrition programmes.
The organisers described Osun State as one that is in the vanguard of the HGSF movement with its O’Meals’ school feeding programme.
“Osun is a state to be copied for feeding over 240,000 children from over 1328 government run schools; the O-Meals programme initiated by Governor Aregbesola is a “win-win” situation for children and farmers.
“The ‘O-Meals’ programme has proved to be a ‘win-win’ for children and farmers alike; with primary school enrolment increasing by 24 per cent since the inception of providing free school meals, whilst at the same time securing farmer livelihoods and access to markets.