Publication:
India - Improving Household Food and Nutrition Security : Achievements and the Challenges Ahead, Volume 1. Main Report

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (7.86 MB)
333 downloads
English Text (363.08 KB)
98 downloads
Date
2001-06-25
ISSN
Published
2001-06-25
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report focuses on the performance of, and future challenges for, the Government of India's primary "direct food and nutrition safety nets" or food-based transfer programs designed to alleviate short-term food and nutrition insecurity and improve caring behavior within households. This study focuses on the public food distribution system, the government's buffer stocking operations for foodgrain price stabilization, food for work programs, the mid-day meals program, and the integrated child development support services program. A common denominator of this package of interventions is that they all provide direct food assistance to households to mitigate chronic and/or temporary shortfalls in household food consumption. These programs merit special attention as they form one of the key pillars of the government's food and nutrition security strategy. While there is general agreement that measures that promote economic growth and the development of a strong human resource base would have a stronger and more permanent impact on household food and nutrition security, these food-baed transfer programs nontheless play a critical role in enabling the poor and vulnerable households to alleviate the gap not only in short-term deficiencies in food consumption due to inadequate incomes, but also to ease the constraints to the use of selected health and related nutrition services essential to achieving and maintaining long-term nutritional well-being.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2001. India - Improving Household Food and Nutrition Security : Achievements and the Challenges Ahead, Volume 1. Main Report. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15516 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Action Plan for the Provision of Vitamins and Minerals to the Tanzanian Population through the Enrichment of Staple Foods
    (Washington, DC, 2012-01) World Bank
    The United Republic of Tanzania has a severe vitamin and mineral deficiency problem. Every year deficiencies in iron, vitamin A and folic acid cost the country over US$ 518 million, around 2.65 % of the country's GDP. Beyond the economic losses, vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a significant contributor to infant mortality, with over 27,000 infant and 1,600 maternal deaths annually attributable to this cause.2 In fact, if all of these deaths could be avoided, the infant mortality rate (IMR) in Tanzania could be reduced to 41.5 per 1,000 population, which would virtually ensure achievement of the MDG goal for IMR (40/1,000). To reduce this huge annual loss, an integrated national vitamin and mineral deficiency control programme is needed which is embedded in the national nutrition policy. Food fortification or enrichment should be an integral but not the only part of such a programme.
  • Publication
    United Republic of Tanzania : Advancing Nutrition for Long-Term Equitable Growth
    (Washington, DC, 2007-12) World Bank
    This report explores the importance of nutrition for Tanzania. It demonstrates that the prevalence of malnutrition is very high. In fact, Tanzania appears to be affected by a double burden of malnutrition, with a very high incidence of undernourished children, but with a high prevalence of overweight and obese adults as well, particularly in urban areas. The report highlights the high (economic and welfare) costs associated to such high rates of malnutrition by discussing the consequence of malnutrition for infant mortality, education outcomes, the health system and labor productivity. For nutrition to be successfully advanced high level support is needed. Efforts to advance nutrition in Tanzania have made before, with the earliest attempts dating back to the late 1970s. Most have not been very successful. To enhance the likelihood of success this time, commitment from all stakeholders is needed. A social contract that is announced at a public event by a high level policy maker may be one way to commit the actors to change. Such a social contract would have to set clear objectives and a timeline, it would have to define roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders and provide an accountability framework. The high incidence of malnutrition thus presents an opportunity to enhance school performance, reduce maternal and infant and child mortality and to improve the ability of the labor force to be productive.
  • Publication
    Nutritional Failure in Ecuador : Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) World Bank
    This study supports the development of a more coherent and effective nutrition strategy in Ecuador through an analysis of the main nutrition issues, based on in-depth statistical analysis of a large new household survey dataset (ENDEMAIN 2004) and other data sources, together with a review of qualitative evidence regarding behavioral and program-access obstacles to improved nutritional outcomes. It also reviews the existing programs and policies which aim to improve nutritional outcomes, considered the available evidence on the efficiency, effectiveness, targeting and inter-programmatic coherence of the programs and projects reviewed and suggests an agenda for policy discussions to improve these outcomes.
  • Publication
    Inequality of Opportunity Among Egyptian Children
    (World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-09) Ersado, Lire; Aran, Meltem
    This paper analyzes the level and trends in inequality of opportunity among Egyptian children during the 2000s. The analysis uses severall tools, including comparison of the distributions of early risks and outcomes across circumstance groups; estimation of the human opportunity index; measurement of the relative contributions of circumstances to inequality of opportunity; and decomposition of changes in inequality of opportunity and factors driving them over time. Egypt has made significant progress in the availability of and access to basic services for children and mothers, in some cases with an overall pro-poor effect. In particular, appreciable improvements have been made in healthcare utilization before and during pregnancy and immunizations. As a result, there has been a decline in inequality of opportunity over the past decade, largely attributable to increased coverage by basic services rather than through redistributive effects. However, there are areas of persistent and emerging concerns, including postnatal care utilization, nutrition, and schooling. Nutrition indicators have deteriorated during the 2000s, affecting a quarter of children regardless of their circumstances. Wide disparities in school enrollment persist, notably at the higher levels. Large regional disparities in access to basic infrastructure exist, with Upper Egypt and the Frontier Governorates lagging the rest of the country. Family background, especially parents' education and wealth, and geographic factors are key factors affecting child development outcomes in Egypt. While interventions targeted at the less advantaged circumstance groups may offer significant potential for enhancing overall equity in postnatal care utilization and schooling, a more inclusive approach would be needed to improve child nutrition outcomes.
  • Publication
    Rising Food Prices in Sub-Saharan Africa : Poverty Impact and Policy Responses
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-10) Zaman, Hassan; Wodon, Quentin
    The increase in food prices represents a major crisis for the world's poor. This paper aims to review the evidence on the potential impact of higher food prices on poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, and examines the extent to which policy responses will benefit the poor. The paper shows that rising food prices are likely to lead to higher poverty in sub-Saharan Africa as the negative impact on net poor consumers outweighs the benefits to poor producers. A recent survey shows that the most common policy response in sub-Saharan African countries is reducing taxes on food while outside the region price controls or targeted consumer subsidies are the most popular measure. Sub-Saharan African countries also have a higher prevalence of food-based safety net programs which are being scaled up to respond to rising prices. The review suggests that the benefits from reducing import tariffs on staples may accrue largely to the non-poor. Social protection programs show more promise, but geographic targeting is likely to be crucial in ensuring that benefits reach the neediest. The paper also argues that anti-poverty interventions ought to retain their focus on rural areas where poverty remains highest even after taking into account the adverse impact on the urban poor due to the rise in food prices.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    The Journey Ahead
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31) Bossavie, Laurent; Garrote Sánchez, Daniel; Makovec, Mattia
    The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.
  • Publication
    South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02) World Bank
    South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.
  • Publication
    Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) Calleja, Ramon V., Jr.; Mbuya, Nkosinathi V.N.; Morimoto, Tomo; Thitsy, Sophavanh
    The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.
  • Publication
    Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12) Malpass, David
    World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.
  • Publication
    Economic Recovery
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06) Malpass, David; Georgieva, Kristalina; Yellen, Janet
    World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.