School Meals

2019 ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Jean Drèze
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Regular School ◽  
Indian Schools ◽  
Adequate Quality ◽  
Poor Rural Women

This chapter makes the case for free midday meals in Indian schools. School meals have wide‐ranging social benefits. First, they help to ensure regular school attendance. Second, they contribute to better child nutrition. Third, midday meals help to impart egalitarian values among children, who learn to sit together and share a meal irrespective of caste and class. Fourth, India's school meal programme is a major source of employment for poor rural women, and also helps other women to join the workforce by liberating them from the burden of having to prepare lunch for their children. All this, of course, depends on midday meals meeting adequate quality standards. In that respect, one recent breakthrough in many Indian states is the inclusion of eggs in school meals. Alas, this is being resisted in some states under the influence of upper‐caste vegetarian lobbies.

Child Undernutrition in the States of India: An Analysis Based on Change in Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure from 2006 to 2016

2021 ◽  
pp. 097226612110103
Author(s):  
J. R. Jith ◽  
Rajshree Bedamatta
Keyword(s):  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Wealth Index ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Population Projections ◽  
Indian Children ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Child Undernutrition ◽  
Low Weight

Stunting, wasting and underweight—the three traditional indicators of undernourishment among children—provide mutually non-exclusive categories of anthropometric failures: low height for age, low weight for height and low weight for age. Although these indicators are essential for designing specific clinical and child nutrition policy interventions, they fall short of estimating the prevalence of overall anthropometric failure, which provides a sense of the scale of the nutrition problem. This article estimates the alternative, more comprehensive measure Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) for Indian states, based on data from the National Family Health surveys of 2006 and 2016, for children under five years (Ch–U5). The CIAF-based undernutrition estimates show significantly high anthropometric failure levels among Indian children compared to only stunting, wasting and underweight. Based on population projections for Ch–U5, we also show that a sizeable number of states may have seen an increase in child undernutrition between 2006 and 2016. We also correlated CIAF with household wealth index scores and found a positive relationship with children facing no anthropometric failure.

GAIN Premix Facility: An Innovative Approach for Improving Access to Quality Vitamin and Mineral Premix in Fortification Initiatives

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4_suppl3) ◽  
pp. S381-S389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Guinot ◽  
Vincent Jallier ◽  
Alessandro Blasi ◽  
Christophe Guyondet ◽  
Marc Van Ameringen
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Edible Oils ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Private Industry ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Adequate Quality ◽  
Standards And Guidelines ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Cost

Background Vitamin and mineral premix is one of the most significant recurring input costs for large-scale food fortification programs. A number of barriers exist to procuring adequate quality premix, including accessing suppliers, volatile prices for premix, lack of quality assurance and monitoring of delivered products, and lack of funds to purchase premix. Objective To develop and test a model to procure premix through a transparent and efficient process in which an adequate level of quality is guaranteed and a financial mechanism is in place to support countries or specific target groups when there are insufficient resources to cover the cost of premix. Methods Efforts focused on premixes used to fortify flour, such as wheat or maize (iron, zinc, B vitamins, and vitamin A), edible oils (vitamins A and D), and other food vehicles, such as fortified complementary foods, complementary food supplements, and condiments. A premix procurement model was set up with three distinct components: a certification process that establishes industry-wide standards and guidelines for premix, a procurement facility that makes premix more accessible to countries and private industry engaged in fortification, and a credit facility mechanism that helps projects finance premix purchases. Results After three years of operation, 15 premix suppliers and 29 micronutrient manufacturers have been certified, and more than US$23 million worth of premix that met quality standards has been supplied in 34 countries in Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Eastern Europe, reaching an estimated 242 million consumers. Conclusions The Premix Facility demonstrated its effectiveness in ensuring access to high-quality premixes, therefore enabling the success of various fortification programs.

The Asthmatic Child and His Participation in Sports and Physical Education

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 56 (5s) ◽  
pp. 953-954
Author(s):  
Robert B. Kugel ◽  
Giulio J. Barbero ◽  
John Bowman Bartram ◽  
Roger B. Bost ◽  
David G. Dickinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Bronchial Asthma ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
School Work ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Regular School ◽  
The Individual

Bronchial asthma is a chronic pulmonary disorder, frequently allergic in nature, and characterized by paroxysms of dyspnea, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and bronchospasm. Asthmatic attacks may be minor and short in duration with little discomfort, or they may be very severe and of long duration, producing the characteristic picture of intractability. During symptomatic periods, it is usually possible to demonstrate changes in certain aspects of pulmonary function. With mild symptoms or between the episodes of severe asthma, the individual may be at little or no disadvantage in any or all activities. However, when the symptoms of pulmonary distress become severe or prolonged, this may lead to interruption of the child's daily routine, including school attendance. Occasionally, such children may become home or hospital bound for long periods of time. Between the two extremes of no symptoms and severe asthma, there is a spectrum of respiratory or pulmonary disability—the nature and severity of which requires that each child receive individual consideration and evaluation in the matter of his daily activity. The outlooks for the control of asthma in children has been improving during the past several decades. However, with the increase in population, there is an increasing number of children who require medical management for this disorder. It is a leading medical cause for school absenteeism and probably contributes to inefficient school work because of chronic fatigue, irritability, decreased attention span, and secondary emotional disorders. There is general agreement among physicians that most children with bronchial asthma should attend regular school since, when under proper control and with no residual pulmonary defect the child needs no special facilities.

scholarly journals Sustainable Empowerment Initiatives among Rural Women through Microcredit Borrowings in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2275
Author(s):  
Jesmin Akhter ◽  
Kun Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Rural Bangladesh ◽  
Effective Instrument ◽  
Matching Techniques ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Poor Rural Women

Microcredit is an effective instrument that has been recognized to alleviate poverty, especially in developing countries such as Bangladesh. This study seeks to use microcredit as an instrument to bridge the gap between the accessibility of microcredit among poor rural women and sustainable socio-economic development, providing novelty to the concept of “sustainability of empowerment”. In addition, this study employed poor rural women to estimate the empowerment performance of microcredit borrowers compared to non-borrowers in the same socio-economic environment as it relates to microcredit in rural Bangladesh. A regression analysis was used to accomplish these objectives. This study also used propensity score matching techniques to find an easy way to access microcredit. The empirical results not only involve participation in microcredit accessibility but also the particular qualitative attributes of women empowerment. The results also suggest that sustainability is accompanied by affluence among microcredit borrowers, as indicated by women empowerment. The outcome of the empirical analysis shows that there is a significant impact of microcredit on increasing participation in the overall decision-making process, in legal awareness, independent movements, and mobility, as well as enhancing living standards to encourage sustainable women empowerment. This study recommends future investigations for microcredit providers to explore how to build an integrated, holistic approach to women empowerment in Bangladesh.

Water availability index based on quality and quantity: its application in Mexico

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca Jiménez-Cisneros
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Water Quality Standards ◽  
National Monitoring ◽  
Adequate Quality ◽  
Availability Index ◽  
Water Quality And Quantity ◽  
Potential Use

This paper presents an Availability Index based on water quality and quantity. The Index has two elements, the first one indicates the water availability in terms of quantity (renewable freshwater), and the second indicates the quality (in terms of the treatment needed to obtain adequate quality for potential use). Water quality is based on the calculation of another index called Potential Use Index, which enables one to classify the water in terms of its measured quality and to determine its suitability for a defined use. This methodology was applied to Mexico and it allowed a new regionalisation of the country for establishing several water quality preservation programs to start. Also, results were employed to redefine the national monitoring system as well as to initiate a process to change the water quality standards of Mexico. The Availability Index has the advantage of being very simple to evaluate and suitable for countries with no systematic monitoring (same type of information for different regions, regular periods of sampling and historical records).

Understanding ICT

2013 ◽  
pp. 224-247
Author(s):  
Nazmunnessa Mahtab ◽  
Nehal Mahtab
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Poor Women ◽  
Ict For Development ◽  
Poor Rural Women

This chapter focuses on how e-Governance empowers women, specifically poor rural women. ICT for Development emerged as a new area of work in the mid-1990s at a time when the potential of new technologies was starting to be better understood. In poor countries, particularly rural women in Bangladesh, access to ICTs is still a faraway reality for the vast majority of these women as they are further removed from the information age, as they are unaware of the demonstrated benefit from ICTs to address ground-level development challenges. The barriers they face pose greater problems for the poor rural women, who are more likely to be illiterate, not know English, and lack opportunities for training in computer skills. Access to ICT can enable women to gain a stronger voice in their government and at the global level. ICT also offers women flexibility in time and space and can be of particular value to women who face social isolation, especially the women in the rural areas in Bangladesh. To represent the use of ICT, this chapter focuses on the use of “Mobile Phone” by the rural women of Bangladesh and how the use of mobile phones have helped in empowering rural poor women in Bangladesh.

Abstract MP89: Effectiveness of School Procurement Policies for Improving Dietary Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Circulation ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 133 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Micha ◽  
Ioanna Bakogianni ◽  
Dimitra Karageorgou ◽  
Eirini Trichia ◽  
Masha L Shulkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Publication Bias ◽  
Vegetable Intake ◽  
Average Duration ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Portion Size ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Statistical Heterogeneity ◽  
Competitive Foods ◽  
Meta Regression

Background: School procurement policies - e.g., free/reduced price provision of healthful foods/beverages, quality standards for competitive foods/beverages, or quality standards for school meals - are increasingly being used to promote healthy diets in kids. However, their effectiveness has not been systematically evaluated. Methods: We used MOOSE and PRISMA guidelines to systematically search multiple online databases for original interventions (randomized, quasi-experimental) assessing influence of school procurement policies, alone or as part of multi-component strategies, on dietary intakes in children. Data were extracted independently and in duplicate. Inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis was used to pool estimates. Pre-specified sources of heterogeneity (study design, location; intervention duration, coverage, components; outcome type, ascertainment) were analyzed using meta-regression and subgroup analysis. Funnel plots, Begg’s, and Egger’s tests evaluated potential publication bias. Results: From 6,193 abstracts, 76 interventional studies met inclusion criteria. Many were multicomponent. Thirty-two assessed free/reduced price provision of healthful foods/beverages, mostly in cafeterias or classrooms, with average duration 18 mo. In pooled analysis, free/reduced price provision of fruits and vegetables increased fruit intake by 0.22 servings/d (n=14 studies; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.34) and total fruit and vegetable intake by 0.28 servings/d (n=12; 0.07, 0.49), but not vegetable intake alone (n=8; 0.01 servings/d [-0.03, 0.05]). Twenty-seven interventions evaluated policies on competitive foods/beverages (most often sugar-sweetened beverages), with average duration 23 mo. Strategies included restrictions/bans, quality standards, or both. These interventions reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake by 0.11 (12-oz) servings/d (n=7; -0.16, -0.05). Thirty-two interventions assessed quality standards for school meals (lunch and/or breakfast), with average follow-up 28 mo. Standards were typically based on types of foods, nutrient content, and/or portion size. Dietary targets varied appreciably, and results were generally inconsistent across studies, with no significant overall pooled effect. Findings for secondary outcomes of food content, food availability, and adiposity will be presented. Statistical heterogeneity in these analyses was variable; meta-regression did not identify significant sources. Little evidence for publication bias was seen. Conclusions: These findings support efficacy of school procurement policies that provide free/reduced price healthful choices or target competitive foods/beverages. Efficacy of quality standards for school meals appears heterogeneous with less consistent benefits. These findings inform policy priorities for improving diets in children.

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