Yemen, WFP sign food assistance agreement

Education Ministry and the World Food Programme (WFP) signed on Monday an agreement on food assistance through an emergency safety net programme in 13 provinces. The agreement signed by the Education Minister and WFP representative in Yemen aims to distribute the WFP-provided food aid for 550,000 families of female students in the targeted provinces during the period from May 1 until the end of 2013. Education Minister Abdul-Razzaq al-Ashwal discussed with the WFP representative the possibility of expanding the programme to cover the whole Yemeni provinces as well as the mechanisms to improve the level of school enrollment, especially among females and reduce the dropout rates. They agreed to hold a workshop as soon as possible in order to review new mechanisms and views on the processes of expansion and development of the distribution of food aid.