Khaberni - Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education for Educational Affairs, Nawaf Al-Ajarmeh, emphasized the importance of student nutrition programs in raising education enrollment rates, improving academic performance, reducing dropout rates, and enhancing their health and development of positive behaviors, praising the existing partnership with the World Food Programme in this area.
This was stated during his sponsorship on behalf of the Minister of Education at the workshop launching the study results on the return on investment for the national school feeding program, prepared by the Ministry in cooperation with the World Food Programme, attended by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Social Development, Barq Al-Damour, the Deputy Country Director of the World Food Programme in Jordan, Zeinab Al-Khudairi, the General Director of the Royal Health Awareness Society, Amal Areifj, the Director of Education Administration in the Ministry, Ahmad Al-Masa'afah, and the Executive Director of the Development Coordination Unit, Khawla Hattab.
On her part, Ananda Baez, the Social Protection Programs Director and spokesperson for the World Food Programme, praised during the launch the cooperation, presence, and support of the Ministry of Education and government representatives in preparing and implementing the analytical study aimed at determining the economic return on investment in the healthy meal model, through comparing the costs and benefits.
The launch of the investment return study for the national school nutrition program aims to guide policies and execution paths for the national school nutrition program, focusing the Ministry of Education and the World Food Programme on producing evidence of the program's impact and contributions in various community sectors.
The study showed that the school nutrition program in Jordan achieves a clear and positive economic return on investment, significantly contributing to the social protection of local communities and the local economy and improving beneficiaries' living standards.
It stated that for every dollar invested in the healthy meal model within the national school nutrition program, an economic return of $10.3 is generated, benefiting students, female workers, and local farmers, representing a $4.4 return for students from this amount throughout each beneficiary's life.
The total benefit that students receive from the healthy meals within the program amounts to $2,672 throughout their lifetimes, while the program's cost does not exceed $607 per student during the same period.
The study indicated that enrollment rates in schools increase by 3.93% when school feeding is available, attendance rates by 1.12%, and dropout rates decrease by 2%, representing a significant contribution to supporting student education in Jordan.
The study also showed that as a result of increased time students spend in school and their improved health outcomes associated with diverse and nutritious school meals, their lifetime income increases by an average of $1,298, approximately 1 percent.
Thanks to improved health and nutritional status due to school meals, the health care costs for the student over the 7 years they receive the meals decrease by an average of $80, which is a 4% reduction.
As for the female workers participating in the healthy meal model, the study showed that the total annual benefit for each worker is estimated, including the annual salary and the economic impact of increased income and contribution to creating indirect job opportunities and investment in skill development, at about $13,608 annually per woman worker.
As for the local farmers participating in the healthy meal model, the total annual benefit, including annual income and the economic impact of increased income and contribution to creating indirect job opportunities, and investing in policy improvements and skill development, amounts to about $18,692 annually for each farmer.
Based on the positive return on investment, the study recommends the expansion of the healthy meal model in line with the goals stated in the national strategy for school nutrition, with the first measure being the expanded implementation of the healthy meal model to include students currently receiving date bars or fortified biscuits, given the significant benefits associated with this model.
It also recommends implementing complementary supportive activities that enhance the positive effects of the healthy meal model, and providing supplementary training for administrators and teachers in schools on how to handle and distribute food to students safely.
It further recommends expanding the targeting to include additional beneficiaries, opportunities to enhance the nutritional value of the healthy meals menu, and promoting locally produced school nutrition.
It is worth noting that the national school nutrition program in Jordan targets more than 500,000 male and female students in poor areas and refugee camps, where the program was launched in 1975 and is implemented through two models: the first being the healthy meals model, which provides balanced meals prepared from products of local bakeries and small farmers through 10 community kitchens employing about 250 women from weak families, currently covering 90,000 students, and the date bars or fortified biscuits model.
