Food For Thought Experimental Evidence On The Learning Impacts Of A Large Scale School Feeding Program In Ghana

Author : Aurino, Elisabetta,Gelli, Aulo,Adamba, Clement,Osei-Akoto, Isaac,Alderman, Harold
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 43 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2018-12-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Food for thought? Experimental evidence on the learning impacts of a large-scale school feeding program in Ghana by Aurino, Elisabetta,Gelli, Aulo,Adamba, Clement,Osei-Akoto, Isaac,Alderman, Harold Pdf

There is very limited experimental evidence of the impact of large-scale, government-led school meals programs on child educational achievements in Sub-Saharan Africa. We address this gap by reporting treatment effects from a nationwide randomized trial of the Government of Ghana’s school feeding program (GSFP) on children’s math and literacy, cognition (problem-solving ability and working memory), and composite scores of overall attainments. Based on the government’s plans to re-target and scale up the GSFP, food insecure schools and related communities across the country were randomly assigned to school feeding. After two years of implementation, program availability led to moderate increases in test scores for the average pupil in school catchment areas, ranging between 0.12 and 0.16 standard deviations. Analysis focusing on per-protocol population subgroups unveiled substantial heterogeneity: school feeding led to remarkable learning and cognitive gains for girls, poorest children, and children from the northern regions. Program effects were at least twice as large as for the average child. Increases in enrolment, grade attainment, and shifts in time use toward schooling time constituted potential mechanisms for impact. We conclude the program combined social protection with equitable human capital accumulation, thus contributing to the imperative of “learning for all” set in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Author : Gelli, Aulo,Masset, Edoardo,Adamba, Clement,Alderman, Harold,Arhinful, Daniel K.,Aurino, Elisabetta,Folson, Gloria,Osei-Akoto, Isaac,Asante, Felix A.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 33 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2021-10-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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School meals as a market for smallholder agriculture: Experimental evidence from Ghana by Gelli, Aulo,Masset, Edoardo,Adamba, Clement,Alderman, Harold,Arhinful, Daniel K.,Aurino, Elisabetta,Folson, Gloria,Osei-Akoto, Isaac,Asante, Felix A. Pdf

Governments and international development partners investing over $40 USD billion a year in school meals have shown interest in linking these programs with agriculture sector development, through what has become known as “Home-Grown” school feeding (HGSF). Nevertheless, evidence on the effectiveness of HGSF and agriculture is limited. This article reports on the findings of a three-year cluster randomized trial implemented in 58 districts of Ghana including a panel of 1,668 households. Communities were randomly assigned to 1) standard school meals; 2) HGSF or 3) control with no intervention. Post-intervention, the caterer-level analysis highlighted major challenges related to delayed program disbursements, resulting in a mismatch between budgeted and actual caterer outlay on food purchases per pupil equivalent to approximately 50% of the budgeted per child per day allocation. For caterers, by far the largest procurement channel was through traders, though there is evidence that HGSF may have increased the share of value purchased directly from smallholders. We find no strong evidence that the school feeding program or HGSF affected smallholders market structure, farm, non-farm and household income. When interpreting these null results, it is important to consider the findings of two parallel studies that showed positive effects of this national program on school children’s learning, cognition, and nutrition outcomes. The national program can still be considered as an effective social protection strategy with multiple objectives, even if the agriculture objectives remain aspirational.

Author : International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 110 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2020-04-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780896293670

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2020 Global food policy report: Building inclusive food systems by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Pdf

Food systems are at a critical juncture—they are evolving quickly to meet growing and changing demand but are not serving everyone’s needs. Building more inclusive food systems can bring a wide range of economic and development benefits to all people, especially the poor and disadvantaged. IFPRI’s 2020 Global Food Policy Report examines the policies and investments and the growing range of tools and technologies that can promote inclusion. Chapters examine the imperative of inclusion, challenges faced by smallholders, youth, women, and conflict-affected people, and the opportunities offered by expanding agrifood value chains and national food system transformations. Critical questions addressed include: How can inclusive food systems help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and malnutrition? \What can be done to strengthen the midstream of food value chains to improve rural access to jobs, markets, and services? Will Africa’s food systems generate sufficient jobs for the growing youth population? How can women be empowered within food system processes, from household decisions to policymaking? Can refugees and other conflict-affected people be integrated into food systems to help them rebuild their lives? How can national food system transformations contribute to greater dietary diversity, food safety, and food quality for all? Regional sections look at how inclusion can be improved around the world in 2020 and beyond. The report also presents interesting trends revealed by IFPRI’s food policy indicators and datasets.

Author : UNESCO,United Nations Children's Fund,World Food Programme
Publisher : UNESCO Publishing
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2023-02-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789231005732

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Ready to learn and thrive by UNESCO,United Nations Children's Fund,World Food Programme Pdf

Author : Knauer, Heather A.,Balasanyan, Sona,Bakhshinyan, Elmira,Alderman, Harold
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2021-10-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Promoting school readiness through a preschool feeding program: A nutritional nudge to improve at-risk preschooler’s cognitive development in Armenia by Knauer, Heather A.,Balasanyan, Sona,Bakhshinyan, Elmira,Alderman, Harold Pdf

Many school feeding programs target child hunger, nutritional deficiencies, attendance, and education outcomes but often do not examine their effects on cognitive development. In this cluster-randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of adding a morning snack to a school lunch program on the fluid intelligence of 951 children ages 4 to 6 years. While there were no significant effects on development overall, the morning snack improved short-term memory (STM) and total score on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) among children from the lowest quartile of household expenditures (STM: 0.35SD, p = 0.020; WPPSI-IV: 0.65SD, p = 0.087), and those whose mothers completed secondary school or less (STM: 0.35SD, p = 0.002; total WPPSI-IV: 0.81SD, p = 0.011). For at risk preschoolers, school snack programs may help meet their developmental needs.

Author : The World Bank
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 139 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2023-10-03
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781464820052

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Social Protection Program Spending and Household Welfare in Ghana by The World Bank Pdf

Social Protection Program Spending and Household Welfare in Ghana

Author : Olney, Deanna K.,Gelli, Aulo,Kumar, Neha,Alderman, Harold,Go, Ara,Raza, Ahmed,Owens, Jessica,Grinspun, Alejandro,Bhalla, Garima,Benammour, Omar
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 109 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Nutrition-sensitive social protection programs within food systems by Olney, Deanna K.,Gelli, Aulo,Kumar, Neha,Alderman, Harold,Go, Ara,Raza, Ahmed,Owens, Jessica,Grinspun, Alejandro,Bhalla, Garima,Benammour, Omar Pdf

Investments in social assistance programs (SAPs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasing. As investments increase, the objectives of these programs are expanding from focusing on reducing poverty to addressing other social issues such as improving diets and nutrition. At the same time, there is increasing interest in addressing all forms of malnutrition within the framework of food systems. Given the intersections between SAPs and food systems, we reviewed the effectiveness of SAPs (agriculture asset transfers, cash transfers, in-kind transfers, vouchers, public works and school meals programs) for reducing all forms of malnutrition across the lifecycle within a food systems framework. As several programs included multiple treatment arms, each representing a unique program design, we used study arm as the unit of analysis and assessed the proportion of study arms with positive or negative program impacts on diet and nutrition outcomes among men, women and children. The majority of the studies included in this review were from evaluations of agriculture asset, cash and in-kind transfer programs. There was clear evidence of positive impacts on women’s and children’s diet-related outcomes. Very few studies assessed program impact on women’s nutritional status outcomes. However, there was some evidence of impacts on increasing body mass index and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) with in-kind transfer programs. Among children, several study arms across the agriculture asset, cash and in-kind transfer programs found positive impacts on increasing height-for-age Z-score (33%-45% of study arms) and weight-for-height Z-score (33%-50% of study arms) and decreasing the prevalence of wasting (43%-60% of study arms). Cash and in-kind transfer programs also found positive effects on reducing stunting prevalence in 33% and 45% of study arms, respectively. Lastly, a few study arms assessed program impact on increasing Hb with some evidence of positive impacts in in-kind and school feeding programs. There was a paucity of relevant evidence of the effectiveness of voucher and public works programs on diet and nutrition outcomes, for men’s outcomes and on micronutrient status. Several challenges remain in understanding the potential for SAPs to improve diet and nutrition outcomes within food systems including the heterogeneity of program and evaluation designs, populations targeted by the programs and included in evaluations and indicators used to assess impact. Addressing these challenges in future evaluations is important for informing program and policy actions to improve the effectiveness of SAPs within food systems for improving diet and nutrition outcomes across the lifecycle.

Author : Magdalena Bendini,Amanda Devercelli
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2022-05-11
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781464817960

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Quality Early Learning by Magdalena Bendini,Amanda Devercelli Pdf

In this volume, leading researchers and implementation experts from an array of disciplines provide evidence-based, cost-effective, and actionable strategies for delivering quality early childhood education (ECE) at scale in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS).Over the past decade, neuroscientists, developmental and cognitive psychologists, economists, and education researchers have amassed evidence to inform ECE program design. Yet much of this evidence has not been readily accessible to policymakers and practitioners, and potential synergies from cross-disciplinary considerations have not been realized.Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children’s Potential synthesizes the evidence across disciplines and charts a forward course for quality ECE. The volume includes Overview, From Evidence to Effective Policies: How to Invest in Early Childhood Education to Nurture Children’s Potential, by Magdalena Bendini, Amanda E. Devercelli, Elaine Ding, Melissa Kelly, and Adelle Pushparatnam Chapter 1, Learning in the Early Years, by Elizabeth Spelke and Kristin Shutts Chapter 2, Pedagogy and Curricula Content: Building Foundational Skills and Knowledge, by David Whitebread and Yasmin Sitabkhan Chapter 3, Building an Effective Early Childhood Education Workforce, by Nirmala Rao, Emma Pearson, Benjamin Piper, and Carrie Lau Chapter 4, Creating Early Childhood Education Environments That Promote Early Learning, by Cynthia Adlerstein and Alejandra Cortázar Chapter 5, The Role of Management, Leadership, and Monitoring in Producing Quality Learning Outcomes in Early Childhood Education, by Iram Siraj, Violeta Arancibia, and Juan Barón Chapter 6, Toward Quality Early Learning: Systems for Success, by Sharon Lynn Kagan and Caitlin M. Dermody In the volume, the authors provide the latest evidence on how young children learn most effectively and how ECE programs can foster children’s natural ability and motivation to learn. It offers guidance for policy makers on policy design and implementation including what elements of ECE to prioritize in resource- and capacity-constrained settings in LMICs.

Author : Alderman, Harold,Aurino, Elisabetta,Baffour, Priscilla Twumasi,Gelli, Aulo,Turkson, Festus,Wong, Brad
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 35 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2021-11-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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How much are multisectoral programs worth? A new method with an application to school meals by Alderman, Harold,Aurino, Elisabetta,Baffour, Priscilla Twumasi,Gelli, Aulo,Turkson, Festus,Wong, Brad Pdf

Social protection programs such as cash or food transfers support current poverty and inequality reduction goals, while at the same time enhance future productivity through human capital investments. Yet, the quantification of their overall productivity and equity benefits is challenging. We address this question utilizing a new methodology that quantifies productivity gains from learning as well as an approach for assessing social protection benefits. We do so by combining data on distributional benefits stemming from current poverty reduction in conjunction with future human capital gains in the context of a large-scale national school feeding program in Ghana. We develop a straightforward approach to map effect sizes from randomized controlled studies into broader economic analyses. In addition, we include the often recognized, but seldom quantified, distributional impacts of multi-sectoral investments. Our methodology is relevant to a broad range of social protection programs that have multidimensional benefits spanning both human capital improvements and equity gains.

Author : Headey, Derek D.,Ecker, Olivier,Comstock, Andrew R.,Ruel, Marie T.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 17 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2021-07-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Understanding the demand for “protective foods” in East Africa: An economic analysis with policy recommendations by Headey, Derek D.,Ecker, Olivier,Comstock, Andrew R.,Ruel, Marie T. Pdf

Suboptimal diets are a major risk factor for avoidable death and disease in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence shows that some foods or food components (e.g., processed red meat, saturated fat, salt, sugar) significantly elevate the risk of noncommunicable diseases and mortality, while others protect health (e.g., vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts/seeds, fish, whole grains—referred to in this document as “protective foods”). We used household surveys to compare dietary patterns in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet and to quantify and explain consumption gaps for nutritious foods. Compared to the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet, consumption gaps for pulses and nuts/seeds, vegetables, and fruits are large for both poor and rich consumers in rural and urban areas in the four countries studied, while consumption gaps for meat, fish, and eggs and dairy foods are much larger for lower income groups. Food expenditures of most households in these four countries are far too low to allow consumption of the healthy reference diet; animal-source foods and vegetables are the largest cost components of food expenditures, although quantities consumed of both food groups are much lower than the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet. Income elasticities of demand for pulses and nuts/seeds and vegetables are often low or moderate, suggesting weak consumer preference for these foods, while income elasticities for fruits and animal-source foods are relatively high. Income growth alone will not solve dietary problems in East Africa; in addition to supply-side interventions to improve affordability, special interventions are required to increase consumer demand for underappreciated protective (nutritious) foods such as pulses and nuts/seeds and vegetables.

Author : Wang, Jingxi,Hernandez, Manuel A.,Deng, Guoying
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 45 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2021-03-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Large-scale school meal programs and student health: Evidence from rural China by Wang, Jingxi,Hernandez, Manuel A.,Deng, Guoying Pdf

Reducing urban-rural gaps in child health and nutrition is one of the most difficult challenges faced by many countries. This paper evaluates the impact of the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP), a large-scale school meal program in rural China, on the health and nutritional status of compulsory education students aged 6-16. We use data from multiple rounds of the China Health and Nutrition Survey between 2004-2015 and implement a quasi-experimental approach exploiting cross-county variations in program implementation. We find that NIP participation is, on average, associated with a higher height-for-age z-score in the order of 0.22-0.42 standard deviations. The impacts are larger among students in a better health condition but small or not significant among the most disadvantaged. We do not observe heterogeneous effects across several individual and household characteristics. We also do not find significant effects on Body Mass Index-for-age and weight-for-age z scores. The results suggest that NIP partially improved students’ health over the first years of implementation, but more support is needed to achieve broader impacts that effectively reach all vulnerable students. Several robustness checks support our findings.

Author : Sarah Adelman,Daniel Gilligan,Kim Lehrer
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 85 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : 9780896295094

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How Effective are Food for Education Programs? by Sarah Adelman,Daniel Gilligan,Kim Lehrer Pdf

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.

Author : Sarah W. Adelman,Daniel O. Gilligan,Kim Lehrer
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:1376498074

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How Effective are Food for Education Programs? A Critical Assessment of the Evidence from Developing Countries by Sarah W. Adelman,Daniel O. Gilligan,Kim Lehrer Pdf

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.

Author : Lesley Drake,Alice Woolnough,Carmen Burbano,Donald Bundy
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 504 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2016-04-08
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781783269136

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Global School Feeding Sourcebook by Lesley Drake,Alice Woolnough,Carmen Burbano,Donald Bundy Pdf

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.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780821379752

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Rethinking School Feeding by Anonim Pdf

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.