In March 2018, France endowed a new international strategy for gender equality that reaffirms its commitment to reaching SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls). The French gender strategy defines a broadened approach by mainstreaming gender, not only in France’s development cooperation but also in every aspect of France’s foreign policy. One of the key sectorial pillars of the international strategy for gender equality is to ensure free and equal access for girls to basic social services and, in particular, to education. In this respect, France is strongly engaged in fighting against barriers that prevent girls’ access to school. By offering plurisectorial benefits, school feeding programs are perfectly aligned with the gender mainstreaming approach endowed by France. Support for school feeding programs indeed constitutes a cornerstone of its contributions to the World Food Programme, with a special focus on Sub-Saharan countries.
I am strongly convinced that school feeding programs, by fostering school enrollment and attendance, can not only contribute to bridging the gender gap in rural areas, but can also help girls fulfill their potential to be central actors of the economic system. If we want to overcome the barriers impacting girls’ ability to be leaders in their communities, school feeding programs deserve our fullest attention and support. Their contribution to achieving girls’ empowerment, especially in rural areas, cannot be underestimated.