This is an invited memo prepared for the Spring 2022 Meeting of the Global Education Forum. It addresses the importance of the condition of children as a determinant of education outcomes, and specifically the role of school meals in addressing the well-being and learning of schoolchildren.
In the first few months of 2020, 1.5 billion children worldwide were excluded from schools by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coverage of School Health Monitoring Systems in China: a Large National Cross-Sectional Survey” by Yan et al. provides an important demonstration of the value of monitoring national school health and nutrition programs.
School health and nutrition (SHN) interventions are among the most ubiquitous public health investments and comprise a key mechanism for reaching populations that are otherwise difficult to reach through the health system.