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School meal programs are popular social programs. They are provided to 61 percent of primary students in high-income countries but to a smaller share of students in less wealthy countries. There is a body of evidence documenting their contribution to education, health and nutrition, and social protection. But in each domain, program objectives have evolved: schooling is recognized to be more about learning than grades obtained; nutrition goals include healthy diets that reduce risks of non-communicable diseases and are more environmentally responsible; social protection programs aim to respond to acute crises and address chronic poverty. In addition to assisting in these sectors, school meal programs are tasked with creating food systems that assist smallholder farmers, an endeavor that has yet to be extensively studied. This review examines the latest evidence on these evolving dimensions of school meal programs. Findings suggest that while there is a strong evidence base for school meals, there are also specific gaps in the evidence of effectiveness and a particular lack of clarity around costs. The country-led School Meals Coalition, developed in response to COVID pandemic-related school closures, has brought new momentum to national programs and new urgency for reliable evidence on effectiveness and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme has been the central focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan to combat maternal and child malnutrition under the national nutrition mission in India. This paper examined the linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6–59 months. The study utilized data from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS‐4 [2015–2016] and NFHS‐5 [2019–2021]). Descriptive analyses were used to assess the change in utilization of ICDS and the prevalence of underweight at the national and state levels. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to examine factors associated with the utilization of ICDS and underweight. Linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight were examined using the difference‐in‐differences (DID) approach. Utilization of ICDS increased from 58% in 2015–2016 to 71% in 2019–2021. The prevalence of underweight decreased from 37% to 32% in the same period. Changes in ICDS utilization and underweight prevalence varied considerably across states, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results from decomposition of DID models suggest that improvements in ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight children between 2016 and 2021, suggesting that ICDS made a modest but meaningful contribution in addressing undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months in this period. Key messages: Utilization of ICDS services among children aged 6–59 months increased from 58% (2015–2016) to 71% (2019–2021) nationally. The programme's expansion was prominent in urban areas, showcasing progress across states.The prevalence of underweight among children in India declined by 5 percentage points from 2016 to 2021, but almost one‐third of children are still underweight.Increase in coverage and service delivery strengthening of ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight between 2016 and 2021.The findings suggest that optimizing quality of interventions under ICDS can have a modest but meaningful contribution in reducing childhood underweight in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate coverage and equity of India's Integrated Child Development Services programme across the continuum of care from pregnancy to early childhood, before and after the programme was expanded to provide universal access. Methods The programme offers nutrition and health services to pregnant and lactating mothers and young children. We used data from nationally representative surveys in 2005-2006 and 2015-2016, including 36 850 mother-child pairs in 2006 and 190 804 in 2016. We assessed changes in the equity of use of programme services by socioeconomic quintile, caste, education and rural or urban residence. We used regression models to investigate the determinants of programme use. Findings The mean proportion of respondents using programme services increased between 2006 and 2016, from 9.6% to 37.9% for supplementary food, 3.2% to 21.0% for health and nutrition education, 4.5% to 28% for health check-ups and 10.4% to 24.2% for child-specific services (e.g. immunization, growth monitoring). Wealth, maternal education and caste showed the largest positive associations with use of services. However, expansion in service use varied at the sub-national level. Although overall use had improved and reached marginalized groups such as disadvantaged castes and tribes, the poorest quintiles of the population were still left behind, especially in the largest states that carry the highest burden of undernutrition. Conclusion India's policy reforms have increased coverage of the programme at the national level, including for marginalized groups. With further scaling-up, the programme needs to focus on reaching households from the lowest socioeconomic strata and women with low schooling levels. Objectif Etudier la couverture et l'equite du programme indien de services integres pour le developpement de l'enfant (Integrated Child Development Services) tout au long du continuum de soins, depuis la grossesse jusqu'a la petite enfance, avant et apres l'extension du programme visant a garantir un acces universel. Methodes Ce programme propose des services de nutrition et de sante aux femmes enceintes, aux femmes qui allaitent et aux jeunes enfants. Nous avons utilise des donnees provenant d'enquetes nationalement representatives, realisees en 2005-2006 et en 2015-2016, qui ont implique 36 850 paires mere-enfant en 2006 et 190 804 paires mereenfant en 2016. Nous avons evalue les changements en matiere d'equite dans l'utilisation de ces services par quintile socioeconomique, caste, niveau d'education et residence rurale ou urbaine. Nous avons utilise des modeles de regression pour etudier les determinants de l'utilisation du programme. Resultats La proportion moyenne de personnes interrogees utilisant les services du programme a augmente entre 2006 et 2016, en passant de 9,6% a 37,9% pour la fourniture de supplements alimentaires, de 3,2% a 21,0% pour les services d'education sur la sante et la nutrition, de 4,5% a 28% pour les bilans de sante et de 10,4% a 24,2% pour les services specifiques a l'enfant (ex.: vaccination, surveillance de la croissance). Le niveau de revenus, le niveau d'education de la mere et la caste correspondent aux associations les plus largement positives avec l'utilisation des services. Neanmoins, l'augmentation de l'utilisation des services a varie au niveau sous-national. Meme si l'utilisation generale a augmente et que les services ont atteint des groupes marginalises, tels que les castes et les tribus les plus defavorisees, les quintiles les plus pauvres de la population sont restes laisses pour compte, notamment dans les plus grands etats, qui sont les plus lourdement frappes par la denutrition. Conclusion En Inde, les reformes des politiques ont permis d'obtenir une meilleure couverture au niveau national, y compris pour les groupes marginalises. Pour ses prochaines extensions, le programme devra cibler les menages appartenant aux couches socioeconomiques les plus pauvres et les femmes ayant un niveau d'education bas. Objetivo Investigar la cobertura y la equidad del Programa de servicios integrados de desarrollo infantil de la India a traves de la atencion continua desde el embarazo hasta la infancia temprana, antes y despues de que el programa se ampliara para proporcionar acceso universal. Metodos El programa ofrece servicios de nutricion y salud a madres embarazadas y lactantes y a ninos pequenos. Se utilizaron datos de encuestas representativas a nivel nacional de 2005-2006 y 2015-2016, incluidas 36 850 parejas de madres e hijos en 2006 y 190 804 en 2016. Se evaluaron los cambios en la equidad de uso de los servicios del programa por quintil socioeconomico, casta, educacion y residencia rural o urbana. Se utilizaron modelos de regresion para investigar los determinantes del uso del programa. Resultados La proporcion media de encuestados que utilizan los servicios del programa aumento entre 2006 y 2016, del 9,6 % al 37,9 % en el caso de los alimentos suplementarios, del 3,2 % al 21,0 % en el de la educacion sanitaria y nutricional, del 4,5 % al 28 % en el de los reconocimientos medicos y del 10,4 % al 24,2 % en el de los servicios especificos para ninos (por ejemplo, inmunizacion o vigilancia del crecimiento). La riqueza, la educacion materna y la casta mostraron las mayores asociaciones positivas con el uso de los servicios. Sin embargo, la expansion del uso de servicios vario a nivel subnacional. Aunque el uso general ha mejorado y ha llegado a grupos marginados como las castas y tribus desfavorecidas, los quintiles mas pobres de la poblacion siguen quedando rezagados, especialmente en los estados mas grandes que soportan la mayor carga de desnutricion. Conclusion Las reformas politicas de la India han aumentado la cobertura del programa a nivel nacional, incluso para los grupos marginados. Con una mayor ampliacion, el programa debe centrarse en llegar a los hogares de los estratos socioeconomicos mas bajos y a las mujeres con bajos niveles de escolaridad., Introduction In 2013, reviews of effective nutrition interventions estimated that scaling-up a set of proven nutrition-specific interventions could reduce stunting globally by 20% and reduce child mortality by 15%. (1) [...]

Development projects and policies displace an estimated ten million people each year worldwide. In this study we investigate the association between population redistribution schemes and children’s human capital outcomes. Using a new dataset from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), we first describe the resettlement status, nutritional status, and educational attainment of children. We then ask whether children in households that have been resettled have worse nutritional status and lower educational attainment than children in non-resettled households. We use propensity-score matching methods to address unobserved heterogeneity in the likelihood of being resettled. Results suggest that resettlement is associated with poorer long-term outcomes but better short-term outcomes. Ethnicity and district are important predictors of both resettlement status and human capital.

The COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in severe income losses, but little is known about its impacts on diets and nutritional adequacy, or the effectiveness of social protection interventions in mitigating dietary and nutritional impacts. We first assess the likely impacts of COVID‐19 shocks in Bangladesh and Myanmar on poverty and food and nutrient consumption gaps. We then analyze the estimated mitigating effects of five hypothetical social protection interventions of a typical monetary value: (1) cash transfers; (2) in‐kind transfers of common rice; (3) in‐kind transfers of fortified rice enriched with multiple essential micronutrients; (4) vouchers for a diversified basket of rice and non‐staple foods; and (5) food vouchers with fortified rice instead of common rice. The simulation results suggest modest effectiveness of the cash transfers for mitigating poverty increases and little effectiveness of all five transfers for preventing increasing food and nutrient consumption gaps among the poorest 40%. Rice fortification is, however, effective at closing key micronutrient consumption gaps and could be a suitable policy instrument for averting "hidden hunger" during economic crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]