Ref. Ares(2018)3415183 - 27/06/2018
Ref. Ares(2018)4147635 - 07/08/2018
Monthly Update on Milk for WFP Syria’s School Meal Programme
March 2018
Background
Since August 2014, WFP Syria, in cooperation with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education,
has been implementing a school meals programme aimed at encouraging enrolment and
regular attendance among pre-primary and primary school children in Syria. Initially
providing fortified date bars only, thanks to a generous contribution from the European
Commission, starting in the 2016-17 school year, WFP introduced UHT milk of European
Union origin as part of the meal provided to children.
Due to operational challenges linked to the nature of the commodity as well as the challenging
context in Syria, WFP maintains the possibility of channeling part of the milk quantities
through the General Food Assistance (GFA) programme as a contingency measure.
Implementation to date
Arrival of milk shipments
Out of the total of 19,245 mt of milk procured from European milk suppliers, WFP has received
17,768.13 mt in country. These include packaging of 200 ml, 330 ml and 1 litre of milk.
Among the quantities of milk arrived in country, 14,632.523 mt have so far received positive
lab test results and were cleared for onward dispatch.
WFP expects the final shipments of the remaining milk quantities to arrive in early April 2018
– a total of 1,477.49 mt. With an average of 21 days to receive the positive lab test results, these
last quantities are expected to be ready for dispatch during late April and May.
Expected milk shipment
Qty-mt
Milk received in country
as of April
17,768.13
Milk expected in April
1,477.49
Total milk procured
19,245
Dispatches to schools
During March, WFP dispatched 3,886.399 mt of milk to schools in Aleppo, Damascus, Dar’a,
Hama, Homs, Lattakia, Rural Damascus and Tartous governorates. These quantities are
estimated to benefit 314,432 children, based on a daily ration per child of 400 ml of milk (two
packs of 200 ml) or 330 ml.
Dispatches under the GFA programme
In addition, WFP dispatched 1,904.068 mt of milk under the GFA programme, benefiting
some 148,057 children in vulnerable households supported by WFP with monthly food
assistance, covering a daily consumption per child of 400 ml. The children were reached
through WFP’s GFA programme in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, Ar-Raqqa, As-Sweida, Damascus,
Dar’a, Hama, Lattakia, Quneitra, Rural Damascus, and Tartous governorates. Within the
framework of the GFA programme, milk was also allocated to the comprehensive response
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that WFP has provided to the dire humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta, Rural Damascus,
and Afrin in northern Aleppo governorate.
This represents the first allocation of milk to the GFA programme since the start of the 2017-
2018 school year, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the total 19,245 mt of milk
procured for the 2017-2018 school year.
As mentioned in previous updates, the allocation of milk through GFA is being made in light
of a large amount of milk quantities cleared at the same time and the limited absorption
capacity of schools within one month. Given the short shelf life of the relative sensitive
commodity, the allocation of milk to GFA also takes into account the issue of the Best Before
Date (BBD) to avoid commodity losses. Operational and logistical issues also might play a role.
Combining dispatches to schools and under the GFA programme, a total of 11,644.174 mt of
milk were dispatched since December 2017, benefitting an estimated 462,489 children in 12
governorates.
Milk dispatches
Dispatched to Schools
Allocated to GFA
(mt)
(mt)
Quantity of milk dispatched in
March
3,886.399
1,904.068
Number of children
benefitting from the
314,432
dispatched milk in March
148,057
Cumulative quantity
dispatched since the beginning
9,740.106
1,904.068
of the 2017-18 school year
Remaining quantities to be
dispatched as part of the 2017-
7,600.826
18 school year
Planning ahead
Reaching more school children
WFP is in the process of identifying additional schools benefiting from the milk under the
school meals programme. Additional schools are considered in Hama, Homs, Lattakia, and
Rural Damascus governorates. Already as of February, WFP increased the number of schools
in Aleppo governorate, which have since then been receiving the fortified milk for their school
children.
The proposed list of new schools is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Local
Administration and Environment, while it was already discussed and approved by the
Ministry of Education.
With the identification of the additional schools, WFP expects that all the remaining milk
quantities (some 7,600 mt) will be dispatched under the school meals programme during April
and May. Accordingly, no further distribution of milk through GFA is expected, though
operational conditions on the ground may change.
Sensitization efforts
To ensure a successful implementation of the milk project, WFP conducts extensive
sensitization targeting all stakeholders involved in the transportation, storage and distribution
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of milk. This includes trainings and briefing sessions for relevant focal points of the local
Departments of Education, as well as cooperating partners implementing the milk project
under WFP’s GFA programme. The sensitization aims at ensuring that beneficiaries are duly
informed about the milk distribution.
Additional sensitization measures include the display of posters and banners at relevant GFA
distribution sites, informing families on the correct usage and consumption of the fortified
milk, e.g. to benefit children between the age of 6-12 years. As a precautionary measure, to
avoid any misuse of the milk, WFP targets only families eligible under the GFA programme
with children older than 2 years of age. Through these efforts, WFP also pre-empts the risk of
milk being used as a breastfeeding substitute. WFP’s established vulnerability criteria to
identify eligible families under the GFA programme ensure the assistance reaches the most
vulnerable Syrian families.
Coordination
WFP continues to use its internal coordination mechanisms to ensure the successful
implementation of the milk project. In addition, WFP maintains its regular meetings with the
ECHO TA in Damascus, which includes briefings on the part of WFP technical experts, to
discuss progress and any other occurring issues.
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