Guinea Bissau: School Meals, Solar Pumps and Sewing - Guinea-Bissau Builds Food Security From the Ground Up

What the report says

A World Food Programme pilot in Guinea-Bissau is using one village, Cumpanghor in the eastern Gabu region, to connect school meals, farming, skills training and income generation in a single community model. According to AllAfrica’s report based on WFP material, the effort began with sewing machines in 2024 and later expanded to poultry farming, horticulture training, irrigation, and the installation of a solar-powered pump and storage tank.

The project, called One SDG Tabanca Initiative at a Time, is run by WFP with regional authorities and the local women’s cooperative CAMUCA. The village now serves as a hub for six participating communities, and the report says nearly 3,000 people have taken part in learning and exchange activities. WFP says the design was shaped by an assessment that found poor diets and anemia in the area, part of a broader pattern of hunger and malnutrition in Gabu and across the country.

The report says school meals have been restarted at Cumpanghor Elementary School after being paused for more than a year because of funding shortages. More than 152,000 children in 700 schools nationwide receive WFP-supported meals, and Guinea-Bissau has also signaled a goal of universal school meals by 2027. The article presents the initiative as an example of how aid, local production and education can reinforce each other.

Community members quoted in the report say the project has improved access to water, expanded gardens, supported poultry production and given children more consistent meals. It also highlights sewing classes as a path to future work, especially for girls, while noting additional support from partners including UNFPA, UNESCO, Japan, South Korea and development programs tied to agriculture and rural entrepreneurship.