ArticlePublic health nutrition2021
The effect of school feeding programme on class absenteeism and academic performance of schoolchildren in Southern Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Associations between exposure to nutrition, WASH interventions and children's academic performance in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- School feeding programs for improving the physical and psychological health of school children experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of School Meal Programs on Educational Outcomes in African Schoolchildren: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Assessment of the Effect of School Feeding on Dropout Rate in Kolfe Keranio Public Primary School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Scientifica · 2026Article
- Improving school-age nutrition and school performance through amaranth plus flaxseed food product distribution in Sidama, Ethiopia: a study protocol.Global health action · 2025Article
- Adolescent and Parental Perspectives of Food Insecurity at Home and at School Among Adolescents Attending Junior High Schools in Cape Coast, Ghana.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- School feeding in Ethiopia: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Effect of school feeding program on dietary folate intake among school adolescent girls in Sidama region, southern Ethiopia.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Impact of school meals on educational outcomes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Public health nutrition · 2022Article
- Successes and challenges of the Home-grown School Feeding Program in Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study.Journal of nutritional science · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveEthiopia recently scaled up the implementation of a school feeding programme (SFP). Yet, evidence on the impact of such programmes on academic outcomes remains inconclusive. We evaluated the effect of the SFP on class absenteeism and academic performance of primary school students (grade 5-8) in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia.
designThis prospective cohort study enrolled SFP-beneficiary (n 240) and non-beneficiary (n 240) children 10-14 years of age from sixteen public schools and followed them for an academic year. School absenteeism was measured as the number of days children were absent from school in the year. Academic performance was defined based on the average academic score of the students for ten subjects they attended in the year. Data were analysed using multivariable mixed effects negative binomial and linear regression models.
settingFood insecure districts in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia.
participantsSFP-beneficiary and non-beneficiary children 10-14 years of age.
resultsThe mean (sd) number of days children were absent from school was 4·0 (sd 1·5) and 9·3 (sd 6·0), among SFP beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, respectively. Students not covered by the SFP were two times more likely to miss classes (adjusted rate ratio = 2·30; 95 % CI 2·03, 2·61). Pertaining to academic performance, a significant but small 2·40 (95 % CI 0·69, 4·12) percentage point mean difference was observed in favour of SFP beneficiaries. Likewise, the risk of school dropout was six times higher among non-beneficiaries (adjusted rate ratio = 6·04; 95 % CI 1·61, 22·68).
conclusionsSFP promotes multiple academic outcomes among socio-economically disadvantaged children.
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