BUJUMBURA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-funded school feeding program has won praise in Burundi for helping improve local education outcomes in the country.
The one-year "school canteen project" concluded Thursday, benefiting 46,200 children in Bubanza, Cibitoke and Bujumbura provinces in western Burundi.
"It's a project that left an important impact in the educational and economic sectors of Burundi," said Hermenegilde Burikukiye, permanent secretary at the Burundian Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research.
The feeding program has contributed to markedly higher registration, completion, and retention rates in the three provinces, he said.
The completion rates in the three provinces, 55 percent in Bubanza, 64 percent in Cibitoke, and 67 percent in Bujumbura, in comparison to the national average of 52.3 percent, Burikukiye said.
Retention rates also improved: Bubanza gained 3 percentage points to reach 88 percent; Cibitoke rose 14 percentage points to 91 percent; and Bujumbura also jumped 14 percentage points, reaching a remarkable 99 percent.
"Regarding the economic aspect, the Chinese funding has contributed a lot to farming cooperatives and associations that supplied foodstuffs to the schoolchildren within the school canteen project," Burikukiye said.
Fang Guoqing, interim charge d'affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Burundi, thanked all stakeholders who supported the project, noting that in May 2024, China allocated 1.5 million U.S. dollars as part of a fund for global development and South-South cooperation to implement the "school canteen project."
He commended the Burundian government and the World Food Program for their combined efforts in the implementation of the project.
"We are glad to see that the project has ended with a big success, manifesting the traditional friendly ties between Burundi and China and the United Nations system," Fang said.
The project also showcased the high quality and high-level global strategic partnership between China and Burundi, he said.
"I hope that, with this starting point, international actors will actively support projects on the wellbeing linked to sustainable development," Fang said.
Arduino Mangoni, interim country director of the World Food Program in Burundi, also praised the positive impact of the project.
"It was a precious project for the development of the human capital of Burundi, and for the future of the country," he said, adding that the WFP will continue to support Burundi and extend the coalition of partners of the school feeding program.
