Speech by Minister Ville Tavio at the Opening Session of the Second Global School Meals Coalition Summit

Speech by Minister Ville Tavio at the Opening Session of the Second Global School Meals Coalition Summit

Speech by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio at the Opening Session of the Second Global School Meals Coalition Summit on 18 September 2025, in Fortaleza Brasil.

Mister Vice President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

I would like to start by acknowledging and thanking the community that is gathered here in support of school meals. And many thanks to Brazil and France, the co-chairs of the Coalition.

The Coalition is still young, but its progress has been remarkable. We launched it only four years ago with 45 members. Today the Coalition has grown to over 100 member countries, 6 regional bodies, and nearly 150 partners. This growth shows the great mobilization around school meals, and it demonstrates the power of collective action, the value of multilateralism and shared purpose.

Equality is a fundamental value in Finland. In our country, school meals have promoted equal opportunities for a century. Equal access to education and free school meals have played an important part in strengthening economic growth and transforming Finland into a wealthy knowledge-based society.

As a co-chair of the School Meals Coalition, Finland fully shares its vision of empowering national governments to design and implement their school meals programmes. They are the owners of their respective school meals programmes and provide the vision, the policy frameworks, and the commitment to ensure that these programmes are sustainable and equitable - as an investment in the human capital of the future. More than 55 countries have made formal commitments to scale their programmes, many aiming for universal coverage by 2030.

At the regional level, the Coalition has gained significant traction, enabling meaningful exchanges of best practices and new networks of support, including through at least ten regional events that took place in the past two years in East, West and Southern Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

To expand and enhance the efficiency of school meal programmes, collective effort is key-together, we are stronger. As we look to deepen partnerships, let us not overlook the vast opportunity that exists in the private sector. As governments we can shape our engagements in a thoughtful and strategic manner to benefit from additional resources and valuable expertise.

As we acknowledge our achievements, we must also remember that the work is not finished. Too many children still go to school hungry. Too many families still struggle to put food on the table. And too many governments still lack the resources to reach every child in need.

This Summit is our opportunity to tackle these challenges together. Over the coming two days, let us find new ways to advocate and convene, think through opportunities for sustainable financing, learn about new tools to better understand the progress made and ensure our decisions are based in evidence, and celebrate country-level actions and how cities are contributing to this important work.

Finland remains deeply committed to this Coalition and to the vision and priorities we share. We will continue to support as co-chair and to sustain the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, together with the other co-chairs. We look forward to the critical conversations during this Summit and beyond. We will continue to champion equity, to stand for the central role of governments, and to encourage the full engagement of all stakeholders. Finland's commitment is rooted in the country's own history, but it is directed to the future-to the generations of children who deserve every chance to learn, to grow, and to thrive.

Thank you.