BACKGROUND AND INIATIVE
Addressing malnutrition with fortified UHT milk
Across Yemen, 50% of children are experiencing irreversible stunted growth. Figures from UNICEF state that more than 2.2 million children currently suffer from acute malnutrition, with more than 540,000 categorised as experiencing severe acute malnutrition. Yemen has one of the highest rates of child wasting in the world, with over one in four children affected in some areas.
To enhance access, retention, and completion of education for Yemeni children, Yemen’s Ministry of Education (MoE) – with the support of the UN World Food Programme – established an emergency school feeding programme to cover 1.8 million children. Yet the feeding programme faces several challenges, including a lack of adequate storage facilities, poor access to safe drinking water and insufficient infrastructure. Moreover, schools lack proper and/or permanent kitchen structures and face poor logistics for transporting and storing food, making access to safe nutrition a challenge.
To address issues of food safety and access to safe nutrition faced by the school feeding programme, HSA Group (an international conglomerate of Yemeni origin) and its subsidiary NADFOOD began a collaboration with Tetra Pak Arabia Area and Tetra Pak Food for Development. The result was the launch of a school milk programme in November 2023, serving locally processed UHT milk. Free from preservatives and fortified with micronutrients, the UHT milk is distributed in Tetra Brik® Aseptic 125 ml packaging. Aseptic packaging addresses challenges such as the lack of a cold chain during transportation and the absence of cold storage at schools.
The first phase of the school milk initiative successfully distributed 1 million packs of fortified UHT milk to 16,000 students. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), part of global research partnership CGIAR, conducted a rigorous impact evaluation (RCT) of the initiative.
CGIAR focuses on food security and transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. As CGIAR’s research arm, the IFPRI gathers and presents evidence to shape research-based policy solutions to reduce poverty and combat hunger and malnutrition in developing countries at both national and regional levels.
Funded by the CGIAR and the HSA Group, the impact evaluation of the pilot school milk programme enrolled 1,299 primary school children with 640 in the control group and 659 in the intervention group. Both groups were evenly split between boys and girls and the average age was nine years old.
A positive impact on children and their families
1,285 children or 99% of the sample were surveyed at the endline. Findings from the study indicate that the school milk initiative has had a positive impact on the participating children and their families. Results include a 17% improvement in cognition scores, a 47% improvement in test scores for literacy and math, better household food security and better mental health among both children and caregivers.
Results of the school milk programme in more detail:
1, Higher child cognition scores – an increase of 17% in the group where milk was served, with stronger effects observed in girls and younger children.
2, Improved children’s learning in the group that received milk.
24% higher literacy scores
47% higher math test scores
3, Improved household food security – 14% of households were less likely to experience severe or moderate food insecurity.
4, Enhanced mental health among caregivers and children – 32% were less likely to exhibit problems with personal conduct. Positive effects on anxiety, particularly among caregivers of girls and those in the least wealthy households.
”Measuring the impact of this programme is essential as it demonstrates the true value of receiving safe nutrition for school children. We have seen the many positive benefits that school milk programmes have for children all over the world, such as improving their health and education.
This programme also serves locally produced milk, which helps to develop the local dairy value chain, creating jobs and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers,” says Rafael Fabrega, Vice President, Food for Development.
Engaging more organisations to feed more children
Building on the success of phase one, Tetra Pak Arabia and Tetra Pak Food for Development are continuing their cooperation with the HSA Group in preparation for the second phase of the school milk initiative.
The two principal objectives for phase two are:
1. Scaling up the current programme to include a larger number of children.
2. Collaborating with new organisations to scale up the project and enhance the impact of Yemen’s school feeding programme..
The results from the first phase of the school milk initiative have shown that there is substantial evidence that it can improve the lives of Yemeni children and their families. The second phase aims to extend these benefits to a larger population, thereby contributing to the overall stability and development of Yemen.
