The Impact of School Meal Programs on Educational Outcomes in African Schoolchildren: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Malnutrition and hunger can lower a child’s ability to learn effectively. Many countries in Africa experience high rates of childhood undernutrition, and school feeding programs are a common tool used to address this challenge. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effect of school-provided meals on educational outcomes in preschool and primary school children. Specific outcomes of interest in this review included test scores, attendance, and enrollment rates. PubMed and Scopus were used for an electronic search of relevant studies. Studies included in this review were randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, prospective cohort studies, controlled before-after studies, and pre/post-test design studies published in the past 10 years in English in sub-Sahara Africa. Findings from the nine studies included in this review suggest a positive correlation between school feeding programs and educational outcomes. Although mealtime may reduce classroom time, the benefits of providing a meal outweigh the potential loss of learning time because hungry children may not learn as effectively. In conclusion, it is recommended that school meal programs be implemented and expanded. To improve general wellbeing and learning capabilities of children, school meals should be employed starting at a young age. More research on school feeding programs is needed concerning the preschool age group (2–5 years), as there is a limited amount of information in this area.

School feeding in Ethiopia: a scoping review

“…A similar study in South Africa revealed that meals served at breakfast are also shown to have a positive impact [ 56 ] Children who consume a meal before learning have better short-term memory function, as the brain activated differently based on nutrient supply [ 59 ] However, some studies indicate that, SFP has no effect on attendance, dropout rate and academic achievement [ 34 , 46 , 48 , 51 – 54 ]. If loss of teaching time could be the factor for no significant difference in achievement test scores, it might be simpler to offer a take home ration program to prevent disturbance during the school day [ 60 ]. This indicates the need for additional research.…”

Participatory Evaluation of Development Projects Contribution to Poverty Reduction in Northern Benin

“…This is evidenced by the school evaluation indicators, including the increase in the number of students with an average of 49 per class and the dropout rate, which is approximately 2.4% for schools with canteens, compared to an average of 32 students per class and a dropout rate of 6% in the project schools without canteens. According to Wall et al (2022), school canteens programs have the potential to alleviate short term hunger to increase concentration and learning capabilities of children. It would be helpful to generalize canteens in all schools permeated by the project and even progressively stretch the process to non-beneficiary villages.…”

Ambiente familiar, desenvolvimento e saúde mental de crianças entre 4 e 7 anos no início do distanciamento social pela pandemia da COVID-19

“…Também, a escola é um espaço onde programas de ajuda, vigilância e proteção são oferecidos como, por exemplo, o programa de merendas, que por diversos motivos (econômicos, negligencia, etc) as crianças possam não ter acesso a uma alimentação adequada. Consequentemente crianças com boa alimentação são mais produtivas nas salas de aula e com maior chance de desenvolver habilidades necessárias no ambiente escola(WALL et al, 2022) Mas, igual que as famílias, a funcionalidade das escolas também é ameaçada por baixos níveis socioeconômicos, impactando no oferecimento de matérias, professores capacitados, estrutura física e trabalho na busca do vínculo escola-família. Ditas características pode limitar o desenvolvimento acadêmico e social da criança (CURTIS; ANICAMA; SHOU, 2021).…”