Inadequate monitoring affecting food quality under school feeding programme

Hajia Fati Forgor, National Coordinator, Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), has observed that inadequate monitoring is a major factor only next to nutritional issues, crippling the programme.

Speaking on the sidelines of an orientation workshop for new coordinators for the GSFP in Accra, to reset and strengthen the programme, Hajia Forgor noted that the inability of district and regional coordinators to monitor caterers impacted negatively on the quality of food given to the children.

She indicated that some of the caterers did not serve the required meals, owing to the absence of coordinators.

“I think these issues come up because of.. May be monitoring…I believe that if we intensify the monitoring of the programme at the district level, it will help us ensure that the caterers do the right thing,” she indicated.

On why the coordinators were unable to embark on monitoring, Hajia Forgor said that such activities required resources, and the GSFP did not have enough resources.

“As a secretariat, we are challenged with a lot of resources when it comes to logistics. Travelling around is not easy, and you can only monitor when you have the means to do that,” she said.

She called for more resources to enable coordinators to execute their jobs well.

Hajia Forgor noted that having resources was even critical following the GSFPs resolve to increase enrollment this year.

Currently, the programme caters for over four million school children in deprived communities in all 261 districts in the country.

Encouraging the coordinators to discharge their duties diligently during the main session of the programme, Hajia Forgor said that their role was essential to the success of the GSFP.

She said the quality of services the GSFP provided to its beneficiaries depended largely on the kind of leadership coordinators provided.

She admitted that the GSFP faced many challenges, including funding delays, and rising cost of food items.  However, she charged them to approach their duties with dedication and solution-oriented mindset.

Source: GNA

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