As the continent marks the Africa School Feeding Day, the World Food Program says it plans to provide meals to more than 280,000 school going children in South Sudan this year.

The Africa School Feeding Day was initiated by the African Union, to fight child hunger and malnutrition.

The day is marked annually to encourage children, especially the girls to go to school and continue with their education.

The WFP Spokesperson, George Forminyen, says the agency has been carrying out the feeding program in South Sudan for the last few years.

“Last year alone, that is in 2015, WFP provided school meals for more than 255,000 children,” Mr Forminyen.

The African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development agreed in 2003, that good education, health, and nutrition of children are important to achieving the millennium development goal of the continent.