Suchergebnisse

School feeding programs have been introduced with the aim to alleviate hunger and improve pupils' performance. This study investigates the effects of the school feeding program on pupils' enrollment, attendance and academic performance in northeastern Nigeria. Primary data were obtained from 180 class teachers at 60 participating primary schools, as well as secondary data from their school records. The linear regression results showed that the duration of the feeding program has a significant positive effect on pupils' academic performance. The propensity scores matching results revealed that the school feeding program has a positive effect on pupils' enrollment and class attendance. While the effect of the program was not significant on academic performance, perhaps because the sample size was small or a relatively short duration of the program, making it difficult to detect statistically significant differences in academic performance. Long-term school feeding programs are recommended to encourage pupils' school attendance which will, in turn, improve performance in the long term.

AbstractA school feeding program (SFP) influences school attendance and performance because better nutrition by default implies better physical and mental performance. SFP is an important motivation to attend school, especially in an area of extreme poverty and food insecurity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of SFP on school attendance of students in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, based on data from a cross-sectional comparative study of 780 aged between 6 and 13 year old selected primary schools in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, conducted between November 2020 and February 2021 in selected primary schools in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria. We used different matching techniques and an endogenous switching regression approach to analyze the average treatment effect (ATT). The results show that the school feeding program has consistently positive and statistically significant effects on school attendance in all three models. The positive effect of SFP is stronger for students from larger households and for those living in remote areas. The direction and magnitude of the estimated impacts are consistent across specifications. In order to increase school attendance, the government should expand SFP coverage throughout the country, with priority given to conflict areas.

AbstractThis study aimed to measure the food safety knowledge, attitude, and practices among food vendors engaged in Nigeria's ongoing Home-grown School Feeding Program. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in face-to-face interviews with 240 food vendors from 3 states in northeast Nigeria involved in the school feeding program using a structured questionnaire. Multiple linear regression results revealed that increased education and access to information through radio, television, and food inspection institutions increased food safety knowledge. Food safety attitudes score increased with more years of vending experience and accessing food safety information via radio, food inspection institutions, and the Internet. An increase in household size and food safety information from friends and colleagues negatively affected food safety attitude scores. As a result, we emphasize the need for dissemination of improved food safety information via radio, television and food safety inspection institutes. Food vendors in the SFP should be selected after passing a food safety training and gaining food handling experience. Higher education should be a priority criterion in the hiring process.

Remittances from migrants are an important livelihood strategy to mitigate the impact of adverse economic conditions, particularly in developing countries and rural areas. This study examines how migration and remittances affect household food security by analyzing data collected from 180 farmers in northern Nigeria in 2018. The descriptive results show that households use remittances mainly for health care and education. Remittances are most commonly provided in the form of finances and food. Binary logit regression results show that food remittances have a significant positive impact on food security status. Financial remittances did not have a statistically significant impact on food security. As the number of migrants in a household increases, the probability that the household is food secure decreases. The propensity scores matching result also showed that migrant households receiving food remittances were more food secure. In light of these findings, we emphasized the need to include both financial and food remittances in studies to understand the effect on food security.