Milk has a limited shelf life. It must be handled and preserved in the highest laboratory standards to prevent contamination or spoilage. Milk is a highly nutritious food containing essential macronutrients and micronutrients that can boost children’s growth n and cognitive abilities. Since February 2022, The World Food Programme in Cameroon has been supporting almost 1000 school children in the Adamawa region with locally processed milk (yogurt), cassava bread and eggs sourced from local producers in the region. One of the newest additions to the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in the region is the Beka Matali School.  WFP started providing yoghurts, bread and eggs here in December 2022. Already, school attendance and performance has significantly improved. The head teacher, Tchinda Bertille says, “The entire community, especially parents of schoolchildren appreciate the yogurt.” According to her, the taste is excellent, the quality is sure and “we have never received any negative complains about the product.” The Adamawa region is known for its many cattle. It has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country at almost 34%. School aged children would often tend to cattle in the fields and eventually join the family business. One of WFP’s main objectives when it launched the pilot of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in 2022, providing bread and yogurt in schools, was to help improve enrolment and attendance in schools. According to the teacher of the Ngodi Malfagoua School, Issa Timothe, that objective is already being met. “Usually during Transhumance, classes would be empty because pupils are out tending cattle, but since WFP started providing school meals, we have a full class every.”   ENSURING THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF THE YOGURT Much of the milk supplied to Walde Kossam (A local dairy processing plant, transforming milk to yoghurt) is sourced from herders' cooperatives f located just a few kilometers from the chief Adamawa town of Ngaoundere. Farmers and cattle herders here, in villages like Idool, Tello and Tchabal have grouped into cooperatives. With support from WFP and Government ministries like the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA), the cooperatives have organised to improve production capacity and quality to attract a competitive price. Beyond the price advantage, these cooperatives value WFP safety and quality control advice because of the benefits for the end consumer – their children. School children are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme. Mamoudou Biya is a cattle herder affiliated the farmer cooperative in Idool. He is proud of his milk and happy that his own children enjoy the yogurt processed from the milk he sells. “This WFP project that supports our children with yogurt in school, has also helped us to be more organised in observing certain hygienic protocols that ensure the safety and durability of our milk,” he says. “We have learned how to ensure good quality milk, increased our production to meet the demand and of course increase the profitability of our business,” he added. In his opinion, more parents are also motivated to send their children to school now, instead of making them keep cattle in the fields. Keeping cattle to ensure high quality milk is also a skill that the farmers are learning. Given the limited shelf life of milk and the delicate safety and handling measures that must be observed to prevent spoilage, WFP closely monitors quality the milk collection processes of farmers through these cooperatives. A food safety and quality control expert conducts a quality assessment in collaboration with the regional delegation of MINEPIA before transporting the milk to the Walde Kossam processing plant in Ngaoundere. WFP also completed a supply chain assessment from collection points in the cattle farms through Walde Kossam’s transformation unit to the distribution sites in the selected schools. Following recommendations, Walde Kossam improved on conducting tests for microbiological analysis and increased the frequency. They equally upgraded from analysing milk every 2 months to conducting weekly analyses and collaborated with national laboratories to conduct in-depth laboratory tests. “We test for density, freezing point, alcohol, acidity and flammability of the milk processed. If any of these tests fail, the milk is rejected,” says the head of quality control for Walde Kossam, Aminou Mamoudou. After reception of milk at transforming unit, pasteurised samples are then collected by the Unit’s Quality Officer and sent to National Veterinary Laboratory (LANAVET) under the clearance of Ngaoundere University. The milk is then processed into yoghurt and distributed in the five schools where WFP currently implements the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in the Adamawa region.   A WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIP BASED ON COLLABORATION FOR COMMON INTERESTS “The partnership with WFP has really made us put a lot of focus on the quality of our yogurt; particularly on the micro-biological tests and analysis of the milk,” says Mamoudou. “WFP is a major client whose interests are equally beneficial for our children, therefore we take every precaution to ensure that the standards for quality and control that they demand are met,” Mamoudou added. According to WFP’s food safety and quality officer, Elvis Njabe, “the technical support given to WALDE KOSSAM prevents food-borne diseases that are usually associated with transforming a high-risk product like fresh milk. It also ensures that the school children receive safe, fresh and nutritious milk.” In providing life-saving food assistance, WFP assures the quality and safety of the products and food distributed. Quality control is integral not just to the Home Grown School Feeding project but in all other aspects of food management, like rice fortification, food storage and distribution. In every step of its supply chain, WFP effectively operates its saving lives mandate by assuring quality control.        

 What would have become of Millitius without education or school feeding? No one can say for sure. But one thing is certain: his relentless quest for knowledge and the desire to be food secure changed his life. From a peaceful childhood to the harsh realities of displacement, Millitius’s journey is a powerful testimony of resilience, hope, and the impact of timely support.Millitius grew up in Kumbo, the second largest city in Cameroon’s Northwest region, a place known for its hilly landscapes and serene environment. Life was merry. He lived with his mother, Mary, a dedicated teacher who always prepared his favorite dish: fufu (corn flour) and njama njama (huckleberry). With his eight siblings having moved out, Millitius was the only child at home, showered with attention and dreams for a bright future.But his life took a sharp turn in 2016 when violent conflict erupted between non-state armed groups and state security forces. At just nine years old, Millitius was in Class 6, eagerly preparing for his First School Leaving Certificate at Government Primary School Mah, where his mother also taught. The conflict, which many believed would end quickly, dragged on, crushing his dreams and forcing him to drop out of school.“My mother lost her job, and we struggled to survive. Sometimes, we hid in the forest for weeks with barely any food,” Millitius recalls.With no stable income, Mary resorted to menial jobs to support her son. But the escalating conflict often drove them into hiding. They would sleep on the bare ground, relying on meagre belongings and the hope of better days.In 2019, Millitius’s life began to change. At 13, he relocated to Buea in the Southwest region, supported by his elder brother, a 25-year-old carpenter who, despite limited means, welcomed the responsibility of becoming his guardian.“He had never imagined being my provider, but he sacrificed everything to send me back to school,” Millitius says.His brother managed to raise 80,000 FCFA and enrolled him in St Charles Lwanga Primary School, popularly known as Catholic School (C.S.) Molyko, during the second term. Having missed nearly five years of school, Millitius had to restart Class 6. He was the oldest in the class, struggling to catch up. But he had three kind classmates who supported him through it all.Everything changed when the World Food Programme (WFP) launched its school feeding programme at C.S. Molyko. Students received High Energy Biscuits during break and take-home rice rations to cook and share with their families.“Those biscuits filled us up instantly. I no longer felt hungry in class. I could concentrate and do well in my studies. My brother didn’t have to give me lunch money anymore, and we saved more,” Millitius shares.Thanks to this support, Millitius excelled in school. Today, at 18, he is in Form 5, studying Electronics at Government Technical High School Molyko. He continues to live under the care of his now 30-year-old brother, who still pays for his education. Recently, Millitius completed a one-month internship through a WFP partner organization, Hope for Africa, where he received a certificate of honor. With his newfound skills, he dreams of a brighter future.“I play piano at church, but my dream is to electrify Buea. My friends and I want to start a business to install traffic lights across the city,” he says with conviction.Millitius’s story is not unique. Since 2013, Cameroon has faced multiple humanitarian crises, affecting education and food security for countless children. Recognizing the urgent need, WFP and the Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2023 to support the government's plan to reach 1 million children with hot meals by 2025.“WFP didn’t just build school canteens; they made sure hot meals were provided to our pupils starting in 2024. This has transformed the learning experience,” says Dr. Lingondo Joseph Mwambo, Regional Pedagogic Inspector of Basic Education for the Southwest.Millitius’s story is a shining example of what’s possible when education and nutrition come together. With the right support, even the most disrupted childhoods can lead to promising futures. 

UN Women organized a series of interactive session to grace the 2024 International Women’s Day in March under the theme "Invest in women: accelerate progress”. These interactive events organised both at its Bastos premises and at the University of Yaounde 1, focused mainly on experiences sharing as well as presentations by different agencies on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in Cameroon. These interactions, which constituted the framework for knowledge, consultation and multi-stakeholder engagement, enabled female leaders (academic, economic and political) to reflect and share experiences on socio-professional, economic and political issues relating to the condition of Cameroonian women and girls. Moreover, it was a forum for proper analysis of the forms and foundations of women's vulnerability, and highlight barriers and opportunities linked to women's empowerment, a prerequisite for achieving the goal of equality and sustainable equity set out in SDG5. Ms. Marie-Pierre Raky Chaupin, Country Representative of UN Women Cameroon, made a presentation on: "Human rights in relation to the situation of women: state of play and global perspectives".