Nutrition Education In Child Feeding Programs In The Developing Countries

Compiled by the Partnership for Child Development at Imperial College London, the World Food Programme, the World Bank and the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development, this is the first sourcebook of its kind to document government-led school feeding programmes in low and middle income countries. It includes a compilation of concise but comprehensive chapters about national programmes in 14 countries from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. The sourcebook highlights the trade-offs associated with alternative school feeding models and analyses the overarching themes, trends and challenges which run across these programmes. This sourcebook supports learning and knowledge exchange among countries looking to strengthen and scale-up national school feeding programmes. The evidence presented here sheds light on identified global good practices which can be employed to improve the quality and effectiveness of programmes that positively impact on millions of children and communities worldwide. Contents:ForewordAcknowledgementsAbbreviations and AcronymsBoxes, Figures and TablesGlossaryExecutive SummaryIntroduction to the SourcebookAnalysis of the Case Studies:Design and ImplementationPolicy and Legal FrameworksInstitutional ArrangementsFunding and BudgetingCommunity ParticipationThe Case Studies:Botswana — National School Feeding ProgrammeBrazil — Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE)Cape Verde — National School Nutrition ProgrammeChile — Programa de Alimentacion Escolar (PAE)Côte d'Ivoire — Programme Intégré de Pérennisation des Cantines Scolaires (PIP/CS)Ecuador — School Food ProgrammeGhana — The Ghana School Feeding ProgrammeIndia — Mid-Day Meal SchemeKenya — Home Grown School Meals ProgrammeMali — Programme National d'Alimentation ScolaireMexico — Desayunos EscolaresNamibia — The Namibia School Feeding ProgrammeNigeria — Osun State Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O'Meals Programme)South Africa — National School Nutrition Programme Readership: Programme managers, policy makers and academics from governmental, multilateral and bi-lateral organisations, NGOs and academic institutions in the fields of education, public health, nutrition and agriculture.

Abstract: A detailed, illustrated pamphlet for village health and child care workers and others involved in child feeding in developing countries provides nutrition education guidelines to assist such workers in teaching mothers and children about nutrition. Topics include parent education concerning children's foods; what one should know about foods; establishing community goals for child feeding and nutrition; general teaching guidelines and rules; working with mothers of preschool children; and teaching children who are involved in school feeding programs. A preschool child's height-weight chart, a questionnaire focusing on learning children's food habits, and a list of pertinent references for village child feeding care workers, are appended. (wz).

Governments use food for education (FFE) programs to increase school participation and support learning through better nutrition. But how effective are these programs? This food policy review surveys the empirical literature to assess the impact of FFE programs on the students' schooling, learning, and nutrition. It examines the economic rationale for FFEs, critically assesses the evidence on their effectiveness, identifies areas where further research is needed, and offers guidelines for future program design and use.

This review was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group and the World Food Programme (WFP), building on the comparative advantages of both organizations. It examines the evidence base for school feeding programs with the objective of better understanding how to develop and implement effective school feeding programs in two contexts: a productive safety net, as part of the response to the social shocks of the global food, fuel and financial crises, and a fiscally sustainable investment in human capital, as part of long-term global efforts to achieve Education for All and provide social protect.

Abstract: A handbook on nutrition intervention to reach preschool children identifies major factors that professionals should consider in planning, designing, funding, operating, and evaluating nutrition programs in developing countries. Conceptual frameworks are presented for the intervention design and evaluation. These frameworkscover definition of the problem, design questions, and cost/effectiveness considerations. Design questions are specific to type of intervention. The 7 types of intervention programs examined are: supplementary feeding; nutrition education; fortification; formulated foods; consumer subsidies; agricultural production, and integrated programs (i.e. integrated with health care). Much data is presented in tabular form and a bibliography is included. (rkm).

Food for education (FFE) programs, including meals served in school and take-home rations conditional on school attendance, have received renewed attention recently as a policy instrument for achieving the Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education and the reduction of hunger in developing countries. This review study presents a rationale for FFE programs and undertakes a critical assessment of the causal evidence on the impact of FFE programs on education participation and attainment, learning, cognitive development, and nutrition. Despite a large literature on the impact of FFE programs, many studies suffer from methodological shortcomings that limit the quality of their contribution. Results from the most careful studies show that in-school meals programs improve primary school attendance of enrolled students where initial attendance was low. Potential impacts on school participation by children not previously enrolled in school are not well known. There is mixed evidence that school meals can improve performance on math and literacy tests and they may improve cognitive development, depending on the type of food provided, the size of the food rations, and program duration. Several well-designed controlled trials have shown that school meals have a positive impact on nutrition outcomes, though these results have received less support from field trials in more typical settings. There are few studies of scaled-up take-home ration programs, but one study from Bangladesh shows a significant impact on school participation. In general, FFE programs have larger impacts in areas with low school participation and on children with greater initial malnutrition. The impacts of the programs may also be higher when combined with complementary programs to improve schools or child health.

Nutrition is an essential component of the work of all health and community workers, including those involved in humanitarian assistance, and yet it is often neglected in their basic training. Drawn from the experiences of an international editor team with extensive field experience, Nutrition for Developing Countries brings together the essential basics of nutrition in an easily accessible form which is accurate, up-to-date and practical, and suitable for a wide range of readers at different levels. The book covers the whole life cycle, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, older children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable women and children. The fully revised and updated edition addresses both the long standing problems of undernutrition and malnutrition, and the growing epidemic of overnutrition and obesity, which are responsible for the rapid increase in non-communicable diseases of later life. Generously illustrated, Nutrition for Developing Countries explains in clear simple language, and practical detail, how nutrition workers can help families with nutrition problems, including many ideas for exercises for training nutrition workers.