The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Japan have renewed their partnership to support education and food security in Sierra Leone through the signing of the 2025 Kennedy Round (KR) Food Assistance Grant. The agreement, sealed at a ceremony held at Country Lodge Hotel in Freetown, commits JPY 200 million (approximately USD 1.3 million) over two years for a comprehensive school feeding initiative in Pujehun District.
The new programme, “Improving Educational Outcomes and Food Systems Resilience through School Feeding in Pujehun,” is expected to benefit more than 27,000 primary and pre-primary pupils across the district’s most food-insecure communities. The initiative will fund the procurement and delivery of nutritious school meals, prioritizing locally sourced rice and strengthen food system resilience in the region.
Speaking at the event, Aminata Tall, WFP Representative and Country Director, hailed Japan’s continued commitment. She described the grant as “a powerful act of solidarity with Sierra Leone’s children,” emphasizing that school meals are increasingly central to boosting learning outcomes, supporting household incomes and advancing the Government’s Feed Salone strategy.
Japan’s Ambassador to Sierra Leone, H.E. Yoshimoto Hiroshi, reaffirmed his country’s dedication to inclusive education. He noted that the grant reflects Japan’s belief in empowering countries to lead their own development. “This support ensures that children not only have access to education but also receive timely and adequate nutritious meals essential to their growth and retention in school,” he said.
Japan has been a longstanding partner in Sierra Leone’s school feeding sector. In 2024, a similar KR grant reached nearly 28,800 pupils in Pujehun and over the past decade, Japan has contributed more than USD 37 million to WFP’s programmes in the country, making it the single largest donor to Sierra Leone’s school meals portfolio.
Conrad Sackey, Minister of Basic Senior and Secondary Education, welcomed the grant as a crucial step toward ensuring no child in Pujehun has to “choose between hunger and hope.” He added that the initiative aligns directly with the Government’s Big Five Game Changers, particularly its focus on human capital development.
The ceremony also marked the closure of a previous USD 1.61 million project, which provided meals to schoolchildren in Kambia and Pujehun districts during the 2022/23 academic year.
This latest commitment by Japan and WFP signals a renewed effort to strengthen education, improve food systems and safeguard the welfare of Sierra Leone’s most vulnerable children.
