On 12-13 November, Kyiv hosted the first European Regional School Meals Summit, gathering nearly 500 participants from around Europe to join forces to improve school meals.
The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) joined the summit as a project partner of the School Nutrition Reform Team and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The reform, launched in 2020 under the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska, aims to overhaul school meal programs across Ukraine.
The EUACI was invited to the project to assist in reducing the corruption risks in the construction and modernization of school canteens. At the Summit, the EUACI Head Allan Pagh Kristensen participated in a discussion panel on infrastructure projects to present the results of the work done by the EUACI.
“This project is an important assignment – and for us, an experiment in working with construction processes from the very beginning to the very end. It is also a test – how far can you get in reducing corruption risks by monitoring procurement processes, examining documents, and overseeing construction works.
Our experiment is still ongoing. We hope that based on this project, we will be able to establish a concept for reducing corruption risks in construction processes. That can inspire other authorities or donors, save money, and assist in reducing corrupt practices,” he emphasized.
Key results of the EUACI’s collaboration with the School Nutrition Reform Team and the Ministry of Education and Science include:
- Review of 187 school canteen projects at various stages by EUACI experts.
- Savings of UAH 132.9 million after EUACI experts flagged expenditures that were ineligible for the subvention of the state budget.
- Reallocation of subvention funds to 20 additional schools to be included in the project thanks to the EUACI-identified savings.
The EUACI joined the Summit’s exhibition to present dashboard data on procurement and construction progress for school canteens.
It included EUACI-developed guidelines and recommendations on procurement and technical supervision for procuring entities and contractors
The EUACI extends gratitude to the First Lady’s Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Science for their strong commitment to this project.
