Evaluation of School Feeding Program for Malnourished Children in Isiolo Central: Kenya

Background: In Kenya, more than a quarter of children under the age of five, or two million children, have malnutrition, which commonly presents in the form of stunting, the most frequent form of under-nutrition among young children, and the school feeding programs have been providing meals comprising rice and beans or a maize meal with beans. From these programs, it has been noted that there is an increase in school enrollment due to the meals provided in schools. From the nutritional reviews done, it has been found that malnutrition levels in Isiolo (16.7%) are pretty high compared to the country at 4.1%. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among 190 primary school pupils selected from 17 different public primary schools and 17 teachers within the Isiolo Central District through a simple random sampling method, and a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. For children selected for the study, consent was requested from the guardian before being included. ANOVA was used to compare baselines BMI, MUAC, and post BMI, MUAC after six months of intervention with fortified composite flour. Results: The mean age of the children in years was 11.23 ± 1.44, with gender having male 55.3% and female 44.7%. 52.1% of the households had more than six members, 45.8% had 4-6, and 2.1% had 3. Income, casual labor had 30%, animal rearing 11.1%, farming 25.8%, and self-employment 20.5%, respectively. In nutritional status, 45.8% were underweight, 24.2% overweight, 17.4% normal, and 12.6% were obese. After six months of follow-up, the percentage of underweight respondents was 11.6%, which declined by 34.2%, the average level increased to 66.8%, and the obese percentage decreased by 4.7%. Conclusion: The study concluded that by having a school feeding program, there is a significant decrease in underweight children with an increase in healthy school-going ones.