School Nutritions

Under nutrition is a major public health problem among children in Ethiopia causing irreversible consequences on children’s physical and mental health and contributes to over half of child deaths. School- age children face high levels of illness and malnutrition during their crucial growing years, decreasing their ability to pay attention and progress in school. Reports indicate that school children can lose as much as 160 days each year due to illness because under nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease (FAO, 2012).Despite the importance of school meals for vulnerable and poor children, currently only 5% of primary school age children are beneficiaries of a School Feeding Program (SFP) in Ethiopia. School feeding programs use two main ways to distribute : on-site meals and take-home rations. In the past IFA served on-site meals to vulnerable school children at five public schools . Currently provides the take-home rations (THR) method at Jihur Primary school which serves both the town dwellers of Jihur and the nearby rural community.