Bangladesh is a country in Asia that is struggling with hunger and the effects of the soaring food prices. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), "Approximately half of the population (63 million people) live below the food poverty line" and "dietary intakes of both children and adults are severely deficient in vitamins and minerals in particular iron, vitamin A and zinc."

Natural disasters have occurred with such frequency in Bangladesh as to deeply worsen the cycle of poverty. School feeding programs are critical to Bangladesh and its quest to end hunger and poverty. The following is an interview with Zahir Islam, the director of the UN World Food Programme's school feeding operations in Bangladesh.

How many children are benefiting from the WFP school feeding programs within the country?

WFP Bangladesh is currently assisting 600,000 primary schoolchildren in over 4,000 schools through the School Feeding programme under the Country Programme. The present coverage is inadequate compared to the total countrywide need of 20 million primary schoolchildren.

Given the positive impact of school feeding on learning, the coverage can be expanded with availability of funding from the donors.

Discuss what effect the meals have on the children in terms of school attendance, performance and nutrition.

The school feeding programme has demonstrated sustained results over the years. External evaluations of the school feeding programme have found that the activity produces positive results. A study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in 2003 found that School Feeding in Bangladesh:

• Raised gross school enrolment rates by 14.2%;
• Reduced the probability of dropping out of school by 7.5%;
• Increased school attendance by 1.43 days a month;
• Improved academic achievement by 15.7%; and
• The biscuits were the most important source of energy, protein and iron, after rice.

Another study undertaken by the Tufts University (USA) in 2004 reflected the following:

• Teachers reported that there had been a decrease in children who had difficultly concentrating in class.
• There was no evidence that the School Feeding biscuits were substitutes for home consumption of family food. Some parents reported that they no longer needed to give their children money for the Tiffin break (recess) representing a cash saving for the family.
• Importantly, there was no gender-based difference in the receipt or consumption of school feeding biscuits.