title: School food, politics and child health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An analysis undertaken jointly in 2009 by the UN World Food Programme, The Partnership for Child Development and the World Bank was published as Rethinking School Feeding to provide guidance on how to develop and implement effective school feeding programmes as a productive safety net and as part of the efforts to achieve Education for All. The present paper reflects on how understanding of school feeding has changed since that analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on school feeding programme outcomes were collected through a literature review. Regression models were used to analyse relationships between school feeding costs (from data that were collected), the per capita costs of primary education and Gross Domestic Product per capita. Data on the transition to national ownership, supply chains and country examples were collected through country case studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  School feeding programmes increase school attendance, cognition and educational achievement, as well as provide a transfer of resources to households with possible benefits to local agricultural production and local market development. Low-income countries exhibit large variations in school feeding costs, with concomitant opportunities for cost containment. Countries are increasingly looking to transition from externally supported projects to national programmes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  School feeding is now clearly evident as a major social programme in most countries with a global turnover in excess of $US 100 billion. This argues for a continuing focus on the evidence base with a view to helping countries ensure that their programmes are as cost-effective as possible. Clear policy advice has never been more important.
authors.affiliation: Human Development Network, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA. donbundy@worldbank.org
authors.forename: Donald A P
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bundy
authors.forename: Lesley J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burbano
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000191:economics; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics*; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005522:Food Services / Q000191:economics*; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D018673:Nutrition Policy / Q000191:economics*; D011057:Politics; D011203:Poverty; D011634:Public Health / Q000191:economics*; D012574:Schools / Q000191:economics*