Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Food aid programs'

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 91 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-91). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
Chronic food insecurity continues to be a major problem for rural poor households in Lesotho. This condition is caused by a number of factors including poverty, landlessness, and extreme land degradation, reduced remittances due to retrenchments from South African mines, closures of some of textile industries, the effects of HIV/AIDS and a significant decline in farming practices due to erratic weather patterns and conditions. All these factors have led to an increase in vulnerability levels. This is magnified by the rapid erosion of traditional coping mechanisms, a situation that has consequently left communities unable to respond to any form of disaster. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the community vulnerability to food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands and review the World Food Programme (WFP) food aid programme in the same area. The research addressed the questions such as the causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; and social protection initiatives that are being implemented by WFP to address food insecurity. The research revealed that WFP has been distributing food aid to the vulnerable households in the Southern Lowlands since 2002. These households belong to categories such as households hosting orphans and vulnerable children, chronically ill persons and physically disabled persons; female-headed households; elderly-headed households; child-headed households; and expectant and nursing mothers. In addition to these categories, WFP implemented food for work activities in which vulnerable households with able-bodied persons worked in to receive food aid. The research found evidence of chronic livelihood failure in the Southern Lowlands. This failure renders it increasingly difficult for households vulnerable to food insecurity to develop and maintain sustainable livelihoods. In particular, the research revealed that, a large proportion of households (53%) are at risk of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; the majority of vulnerable households did not hold any cereal stocks remaining from the immediate post harvest period; chronic illness, unemployment and erratic weather patterns are causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands. As means of coping strategies, most households adopt various strategies such as switching expenditure patterns; reducing number of meals per day; kingship support; selling of livestock; and searching for casual labour opportunities. Food aid has improved the livelihoods and quality of life of the beneficiaries especially the chronically ill people. While some food for work activities such as building of toilets and water taps have been very helpful, others such as tree planting were not embraced by some of the beneficiaries and finally food aid promotes dependency among its beneficiaries and nursing mothers intentionally starve their children in order to stay in the programme. The two significant challenges in the distribution of food aid were found to be food pipeline break and the beneficiary selection criteria. The findings therefore generate the conclusion that although there seems to be an improvement in food access by households benefiting from the food aid programme, there is no evidence that those households will continue to access food in the absence of food aid. In essence, the absence of social food security foundation, executed in tandem with food aid interventionist measures, does not realistically augur well for the future. This conclusion comes from the finding that food for work activities which are more likely to generate income for the vulnerable households are not sustainable because the discussions further revealed that these activities have been imposed on the beneficiaries, without the coownership corollary that partners the communities with food aid agencies such as WFP. It is therefore recommended that development agents should not determine the developmental projects/programmes within the communities. The process should be interactive and should not be done in isolation but in mutual social learning and capacity building process as both parties (development agents and the beneficiaries) learn from each other and manage to develop a reciprocal relationship and partnership that will eventually reap sustainable outcome. It is therefore concluded that, the food aid programmes failed to offer sustainable social safety nets to the beneficiaries. The research hypothesis that there is no clear exit strategy in the implementation of the food security interventions and that there are no sustainability and continuity measures that were put into place by WFP remains valid.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2009.
"June 2009."
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-82).
The World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations food agency, has recently acquired the difficult task of transporting aid into the Somali region of Ethiopia. The political instability, rebel activity, ethnic tensions, and poor infrastructure in the area endanger and delay the flow of commodities through the WFP's supply chain. In this thesis, we explore and analyze the role that these threats play in the WFP's aid distribution in the Somali region. Specifically, we measure the impact of insecurity in the WFP's distribution system, study the current methods that the WFP employs to mitigate risks, and investigate possible precautionary technologies to improve security in this resource constrained environment. Our research suggests that while many tools can enhance security, the organizational measures aiming to increase responsibility and trust between all involved supply chain stakeholders ultimately prove to have a stronger impact on the overall safety of aid-distribution. Finally, though our research has focused mainly on the WFP, we believe that all similarly situated humanitarian organizations will find our analysis applicable.
by Vidya Chander and Lauren Shear.
M.Eng.in Logistics

Les associations d’aide alimentaire fournissent des approvisionnements aux personnes démunies. Toutefois, malgré l’existence de telles aides dans des pays développés comme la France, ces personnes sont en état de santé plus médiocre que le reste de la population et sont plus souvent atteintes de pathologies chroniques non-transmissibles liées au mode de vie et notamment à l’alimentation. Cela signale l’existence d’obstacles, outre l’accessibilité alimentaire, empêchant les personnes en situation de précarité d’avoir un meilleur statut nutritionnel. Cette thèse vise à identifier les déterminants des choix alimentaires de bénéficiaires d’aides alimentaires. Les données mobilisées ont été collectées via une enquête par observations participantes masquées, réalisée en tant que bénévole chargée de la distribution d’aides alimentaires dans une association caritative qui accorde aux bénéficiaires la possibilité de choisir les denrées à emporter. Cette thèse pourrait ainsi renseigner sur les causes de la prévalence élevée de maladies chroniques liées notamment à l’alimentation auprès des populations démunies. La culture et le pays d’origine, les tabous alimentaires, les conditions de logement et de transport, la « carrière morale d’assisté », les responsabilités familiales et l’intensité du besoin seraient les principaux déterminants des choix alimentaires de bénéficiaires d’aides alimentaires. Cette thèse a également permis d’identifier des obstacles qui entravent l’accès des personnes en situation de précarité à une alimentation plus saine et nutritive, ainsi que la suggestion de pistes pour surmonter ces obstacles et améliorer leur statut nutritionnel
Food aid associations provide food supplies to financially disadvantaged populations. However, despite the presence of such programs in developed countries like France, people in a precarious social position have a poorer health status compared to the rest of the population. They also suffer more often from non-communicable chronic diseases related to their lifestyle, in particular their dietary habits. This situation shows that besides food accessibility, other obstacles prevent underprivileged populations from having a better nutritional status. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the food choice determinants of people benefitting from food aid programs. The data on which this work is based was collected through a covert participant observation survey. The survey was carried out while volunteering as a food aid distributor in a charity that allowed assisted people to choose the food supplies they would like to carry out. This thesis will thus provide further explanations on the reasons behind the high prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases among underprivileged populations. The results showed that an assisted person's food choices are often based on their culture or country of origin, their food standards and taboos, their housing conditions and means of transportation, their path as an “assisted person”, their family duties and level of neediness. Some obstacles preventing people in a precarious social position from accessing a healthier and more nutritious diet, as well as various manners allowing to overcome these barriers and improve their health and nutritional status have also been identified in this thesis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
Under practical breeding conditions, the pigs receive a sequence of diets during the growth and termination phase. The number of diets varies according to the nutritional and industrial aspects, where the most usual is to adopt programs containing between 3 and 5 diets. The length of time each diet is provided is based on the number of days it is assumed that the pigs will achieve a particular gain in body weight. However, there is variability in performance among individuals in a population and thus the use of a single diet program may not be the most appropriate both technically and economically. Thus, the objective of the study was to determine, through the simulation, the impact of diets programs and the variability among animals in lysine intake. The hypothesis of the study is that knowledge of variability allows the elaboration of diets that improve the utilization of resources. The study was performed simulating a population of castrated male pigs from 60 to 160 days of age. A population was generated by simulation from the Gompertz function in order to obtain different growth curves. A sample of the population represented by the light, medium and heavy pigs was taken. From the knowledge of the growth curve of the three categories was calculated the voluntary consumption and the metabolizable energy intake. Estimates for the calculation of lysine requirements were based on the factorial method. Three diets programs were established, the first containing three diets, the second four and third program with five diets. The lysine concentrations in the diets were based on the requirements of the heavy categorized pig and then applied to the light and medium animals. The comparison between the programs was performed considering the amount of lysine ingested and lysine excretion. In the simulation the amount of lysine ingested above the requirements was higher in the light animal followed by the medium and heavy and that the program containing 3 diets generated higher amounts of lysine than expected for the 3 categories of pigs. The lightweight swine ingested 1.1 pounds of lysine above what was needed to meet maintenance and production requirements. This value was 41 and 233% higher than those recorded with the medium and heavy pigs, respectively. The 3-diet program resulted in an intake of 0.81 kg of lysine above that required during the simulation period. Program 4, in turn, caused a consumption of 0.71 kg of lysine above the requirement, while program 5 the lysine ingested above the demand was 0.68 kg. The increase in the number of diets reduced the excess of ingested lysine, and this reduction will be greater the lower the population variability for the lysine requirement.
Em condições práticas de criação, os suínos recebem uma sequência de dietas durante a fase de crescimento e terminação. O número de dietas varia de acordo aos aspectos nutricionais e industriais, onde o mais usual é adotar programas contendo entre 3 e 5 dietas. O período de tempo que cada dieta é fornecida se baseia no número de dias que é assumido que os suínos vão conseguir um determinado ganho de peso corporal. No entanto existe variabilidade no desempenho entre os indivíduos em uma população e, assim o uso de um único programa de dietas pode não ser o mais adequado tanto técnica e economicamente. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo foi determinar, através da simulação, o impacto de programas de dietas e a variabilidade entre os animais na ingestão de lisina. A hipótese do estudo é de que o conhecimento da variabilidade permite elaborar planos de dietas que melhorem a utilização dos recursos. O estudo foi realizado simulando uma população de suínos machos castrados dos 60 aos 160 dias de idade. Foi gerada por meio de simulação uma população a partir da função de Gompertz de forma a obter diferentes curvas de crescimento. Foi retirada uma amostra da população representada pelos suínos leve, médio e pesado. A partir do conhecimento da curva de crescimento das três categorias foi calculado o consumo voluntário e a ingestão de energia metabolizável. As estimativas para o cálculo das exigências de lisina foram baseadas pelo método fatorial. Três programas de dietas foram estabelecidos, o primeiro contendo três dietas, o segundo quatro e terceiro programa com cinco dietas. As concentrações de lisina nas dietas foram baseadas nas exigências do suíno categorizado pesado e então aplicado aos animais leve e médio. A comparação entre os programas foi realizada considerando a quantidade de lisina ingerida e excreção de lisina. Na simulação a quantidade de lisina ingerida acima das exigências foi maior no animal leve seguido pelo médio e pesado e que o programa contendo 3 dietas gerou maiores quantidades de lisina acima do esperado para as 3 categorias de suínos. O suíno leve ingeriu 1,1 quilos de lisina acima do necessário para atender as exigências de manutenção e produção. Esse valor foi 41 e 233% superior aos constados com os suínos médio e pesado, respectivamente O programa de 3 dietas resultou em uma ingestão de 0,81 kg de lisina acima do necessário durante o período de simulação. O programa 4, por sua vez, provocou um consumo de 0,71 kg de lisina acima da exigência, enquanto o programa 5 a lisina ingerida acima da demanda foi de 0,68 kg. O aumento do número de dietas reduziu o excesso de lisina ingerida, e esta redução será maior quanto menor for a variabilidade da população para a exigência de lisina.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis has been to analyse which similarities exist in combatants’ control over food supply lines to non-combatants in African civil conflict and evaluate whether these similarities are sufficient to permit generalisations about the use of food as a weapon in African civil conflict. The nature of this study is both descriptive and explanatory. The case studies of Darfur and Somalia form the descriptive part of this study. This thesis is also explanatory in that it aims to make a first attempt at theory building where such theory did not exist before. I try to explain if, how and why combatants intentionally use food as a means of power in civil conflict. Is the control over food a deliberate and rational choice by combatants or are situations of food scarcity and even hunger or famines simply a consequence of war? The case studies of Darfur and Somalia provide many similarities concerning the impact of conflict on livelihoods and food security. Famine is more an issue of limited access rather than availability. The use of food as a weapon displays a number of important similarities. Attacks on food security can be divided into acts of omission, commission and provision. In Darfur, combatants exercise a greater level of control over food supply lines than in Somalia. Finally, I argue that famine in African civil conflict is highly functional and has a distinct political-economic character. The creation of famine is often deliberate, with a hidden political agenda. In both Darfur and Somalia, attacks on food security serve a political, economic and military rationale. The political logic of attacks on food security was most important in Darfur, although here the signs of a sustainable war economy become apparent. In contrast, in Somalia, food production and procurement are attacked without the intent to destroy the livelihoods of specific societal groups, with the exception of the politically and economically marginalised groups in the south-central part of the country. The political logic is very superficial in Somalia. The level of deliberateness and organisation of attacks on food security, and hence the importance of the political logic, seem to tie in with the level of organisation of the central government, as well as with the presence or absence of a powerful ideology that clearly divides certain sections of the population from others. I recommend that further research be undertaken to analyse if theory on resources and conflict applies to attacks on food. Furthermore, additional research is needed on how to mitigate the negative effects of Food Aid. Finally, it is valuable to investigate to what extent effective government control and/or the presence of a binding ideology affect the importance of the political logic behind the attacks on food security. To this point, this research should be extended to include more case studies, with a specific focus on the factors of governmental control, ideology and political logic.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis was om die ooreenkomste oor die beheer wat gewapendes oor die voedselvoorsieningslyne vir ongewapendes in Afrika se siviele konflikte te ondersoek, en om te evalueer of hierdie ooreenkomste genoegsaam is om veralgemenings te maak oor die gebruik van voedsel as ‘n wapen in hierdie konflik. Die omvang van hierdie studie is beide beskrywend en verduidelikend. Die gevallestudies van Darfur en Somalia vorm die beskrywende deel van hierdie studie. Hierdie thesis is ook verduidelikend in die sin dat dit poog om ‘n eerste probeerslag te skep vir die bou van teorie waar dit voorheen nog nie bestaan het nie. Hierdie studie poog om te verduidelik as, hoe en wanneer gewapendes voedselvoorrade intentioneel gebruik as ‘n bron van mag in siviele konflikte. Is die beheer oor voedsel deurdagte en rationele keuse deur gewapendes, of is situasies van voedseltekorte of selfs hongersnood eenvoudig ‘n gevolg van oorlogvoering? Die gevallestudies van Darfur en Somalia bied vele ooreenkomste rakende die impak van konflik op oorlewingsmeganismes en voedselsekuriteit. Hongersnood is meer ‘n geval van beperkte toegang, eerder as beskikbaarheid. Gebruik van voedsel as wapen het ‘n aantal belangrike ooreenkomste opgelewer. Aanvalle op voedselsekuriteit kan opgedeel word in dade van weerhoud, kommissie en provisie. In Darfur het gewapendes ‘n groter vlak van beheer oor die lyne van voedselverskaffing as in Somalia. Uiteindelik is dit die argument van hierdie tesis dat hongersnood in siviele konflik in Afrika grootliks funksioneel is en duidelike polities/ekonomies van aard is. Hierdie oorsaak van hongersnood is telkemale opsetlik met ‘n gepaardgaande verskuilde politiese agenda. In beide Darfur en Somalia het aanvalle op voedselsekuriteit ‘n politiese, ekonomiese en militêre rationale. Die politieke aard van aanvalle op voedselsekuriteit was besonder opmerksaam in Darfur, alhoewel tekens van ‘n onderhoudbare oorlogsekonomie duidelik begin word het. In teenstelling is voedselproduksie en versekering in Somalia onder aanval sonder die bedoeling om die lewenswyse van sekere sosiale groepe te vernietig of van stryk te bring, met die uitsondering van die politiese en ekonomies gemarginaliseerde groepe in die suid-centrale deel van die land. Die politieke logika is baie oppervlakkig in die geval van Somalia. Die vlak van beplanning rakende aanvalle op voedselsekuriteit, en gepaardgaande die belang van die politieke redenasies, blyk samehorig te wees met die vlak van organisasie van die sentrale regering, asook die teenwoordigheid of afwesigheid van ‘n sterk ideologie wat sekere dele van die populasie duidelik onderskei van andere. Ek beveel aan dat verdere navorsing onderneem word om te analiseer of gepaste teorie op hulpmiddele en konflik relevant geag kan word in verband met voedselaanvalle. Verder word addisionele navorsing benodig ingevolge die beperking en kontrolering van die newe effekte van Food Aid. Uiteindelik is dit van pas en belangrik om die omvang van effektiewe regeringsbeheer en/of die teenwoordigheid van ‘n oorkoepelende en bindende ideologie aangaande die effek daarvan op die politieke beredenerings agter die aanvalle op voedselsekuriteit te bestudeer. In hierdie opsig behoort hierdie navorsing uitgebrei te word om meer gevallestudies in te sluit met ‘n spesifieke fokus op die individuele faktore van regeringsbeheer, ideologie en politieke redenasie.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) provides HIV-related medical and support services for uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States. In addition to HIV-related medical care, the program provides medical nutrition therapy and food assistance. The role of nutrition in the health of PLWH is well-documented, especially in resource poor areas; however, the role of medical nutrition therapy and food assistance provided through the RWHAP in resource rich areas is not well documented. This study addressed the association between the nutrition services of food assistance and medical nutrition therapy and the HIV-related health outcomes of viral suppression, retention in care, and CD4 counts. The behavioral model for vulnerable populations was used as the theoretical foundation for this quantitative cross-sectional study. A sample of 428 RWHAP clients was used from the Ryan White Services Report data. Pearson's chi-square was used to examine the association between medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and viral suppression. Findings indicated statistically significant associations between MNT and viral suppression, retention in care and any nutrition service (food assistance, MNT, or both), and MNT and retention in care. Implications for social change include emphasizing the role of nutrition services in HIV-related health outcomes for PLWH in resource rich areas.

碩士
銘傳大學
國際事務碩士學位學程
107
The main source of food supply in the world is agriculture. The term agriculture, as broadly used, which also includes livestock farming, managed fisheries (aquaculture) and forestry. The composition of meals changes gradually as demand for food strengthens and lifestyles change. For those that can afford it, many products that are grown out of season or are exotic now appear on their local market. What agriculture produces is driven by consumer demand, and changes in consumer preferences. For countries that lack sufficient data and techniques for proper food supplying, external aid can be a necessary instrument to improve the nutritional well-being of their citizens who otherwise would not have access to adequate food for a healthy and active life. The purpose of this paper will focus on the influences of Taiwan’s foreign aid and the programs it provides for the development of food supply within the perspective of Palau’s agriculture and aquaculture sectors. It will analyze the influences of Taiwan’s contributions and assistance to Palau’s development in the agriculture and aquaculture sectors, sustainability on food supply, and also to signify Taiwan’s influence on Palau’s development and reveal any qualities that may improve the relations and aid assistance.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world’s poorest regions, governments heavily rely upon donor Aid in order to sustain their national budgets and address the exacerbation of poverty. Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the region is no exception and part of the cause of the poverty is donor aid suspension. The United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) in Malawi introduced the School Feeding programme in 1999. The intention was to reduce dropout rates, promote regular attendance, increase enrolment, and improve children’s ability to concentrate and learn, and improve government capacity to implement a school meals programme. During the period between 2007 and 2011, the WFP announced the temporary suspension of the programme for half a million children in 10 of the 13 Malawian Districts of which the Chirazdulu district was one. Since the suspension of the programme, no proper study has been conducted to indicate the bearing of the suspension. The purpose of the study was to explore in which ways suspension of Aid provision by the WFP from 2007 to 2011 affected the school meals programme and the socio-economic status of the beneficiaries of the programme in the Chiradzulu district in Malawi. Participants in the study were three teachers at two schools where the programme is offered and four parents from the two schools who were involved in the administration of the programme. A qualitative research approached was used and a case study design was applied at two schools in the Chiradzulu district where the WFP’s school meals programme was implemented. Semi-structure interview schedules that were pre-tested were used during the individual interviews conducted with parents and teachers. The school meals programme is still implemented at the two schools today. The main findings revealed that donor aid suspension affected the continued implementation of the school meals programme and the socio-economic wellbeing of the programme’s beneficiaries. There was a reduction in school attendance by learners, increased absenteeism, evidence of malnourishment amongst learners and increasing pressure on parents to provide breakfast for the learners before they went to school. For the programme to have a sustainable impact it is recommended that its implementation must not be interrupted by aid suspension, the programme must be expanded but remain targeted and not become universal and the Malawi government assume full responsibility of the programme and stop reliance on foreign funding.

This report addresses the consequences of the Iraqi Public Distribution System (PDS), a food rationing system managed by the Iraqi Ministry of Trade (MoT), administered by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), and supported with U.S. food aid. The Saddam Hussein administration created the PDS as emergency food aid in 1991 when United Sanctions (UN) sanctions made food imports to Iraq difficult. After more than two decades in operation, the PDS has developed long-term negative effects on Iraq’s most vulnerable populations. Specific vulnerable populations include Iraqi War Widows, Iraqi farmers, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). This report introduces the current Public Distribution System following a thorough background on the development of government-citizen relations, Sunni-Shi’i dynamics, and urban-rural economies throughout the twentieth Century in Iraq. The PDS harms the most food vulnerable Iraqis more than it assists them in the long run because of the unreliable delivery times, poor quality of the PDS goods, and depreciation of the local food market; therefore, the WFP and Iraqi MoT should limit the PDS recipients, improve the efficiency and quality of fewer goods in the PDS basket, and strengthen Iraq’s agriculture sector to provide for the current market and wheat exports. Based on an analysis of the U.S. farm bill, this paper recommends a shift in U.S. food aid from distributing American surplus crops as food aid. The U.S. government should focus on building capacity in the Iraqi agriculture sector with a model similar to the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future (FTF) initiative.
text

The world faces many complex and difficult problems at the global level – problems that are increasingly recognised as requiring political as much as technical solutions. While such issues are often taken to concern, in broad terms, global governance, more specifically, the political aspects of such governance are fundamentally linked to interactions between the United Nations system and the power exercised by the United States of America (US). One important and distinctive arena within which these interactions can be viewed is the international food aid regime, and its central organisation, the World Food Programme (WFP) - an area lacking in concerted political science study in recent years. This thesis is concerned with the role of the US in shaping the legitimacy of the WFP within the institutional context of the international food aid regime. Legitimacy is defined as deriving from the three elements of inclusion, accountability and effectiveness. The WFP and international regime are, it is argued, well respected, relatively effective, and enjoy high levels of legitimacy. At a micro level there are many specific historical and localised factors resulting in this legitimacy; at the macro level many of these factors can be linked to the interaction of norms and interests between the US and the regime.
In particular, the regime’s development and success has been closely related to both a congruence between the US domestic feed-the-hungry norm and the regime’s international feed-the-hungry norm, and a process of divergence between those norms. It is this normative interplay that has enabled US power to be deployed and constrained in a manner resulting in high levels of legitimacy for the WFP. While in many respects this has limited WFP’s capacity to do more with the problem of global hunger than merely ameliorate it, the nature of the problem is much bigger than the capacities of any single operational agency of the United Nations.

The purpose of this study was to develop a support programme for facilitating the integration of nutrition and food security with HIV prevention, treatment and care. The study was organised in three phases. Phase one was a quantitative cross-sectional survey that employed a structured interview with people living with HIV among selected two public hospitals and three health centres. The second phase employed focus group discussion with senior health experts to explore their perspective and experience in integrating nutrition and food security with HIV prevention, treatment, and care. The findings indicated that malnutrition and food insecurity were highly prevalent and significantly affected the treatment outcome and quality of life of PLWHA in the region. Socio-economic, clinical features and structural factors, such as educational status, place of residence, household income, source of drinking water, kind of toilet facility, inadequate dietary diversity, poor asset possession, opportunistic infections, duration on ART, CD4 cell count, and health system-related factors such as lack of viral and CD4 analysis laboratories and inconsistent antiretroviral medication supply were found as predictors of malnutrition and food insecurity. To cope up with the dire impact of malnutrition and food insecurity, short term, erosive and unsustainable food consumption coping strategies were employed. Based on the findings, the researcher developed a support programme for facilitating the integration of nutrition and food security with HIV prevention, treatment and care as phase three of the study. The developed programme is holistic and focuses on multi- and intersectoral collaboration to improve the treatment outcome, quality of life and overall wellbeing people living with HIV.
Health Studies
D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

PhDRDV
Institute for Rural Development
Many countries provide food to school children through school feeding programmes (SFPs). This is designed to alleviate short-term hunger and encourage learners to attend school. Many children in South Africa attend school hungry and lack general knowledge of nutrition, which negatively affects their learning abilities. Not much research attention has been paid to the potential of SFPs to improve learners‟ knowledge of nutrition. Nor has there been significant effort to stimulate local production of food involving community members, which might contribute to the development of rural areas. In the current study, the degree to which SFPs have alleviated hunger, promoted nutrition education, and enhanced the development of rural communities in Blouberg Local Municipality (BLM) was investigated. Data were collected from 11 primary schools in BLM where the South African Department of Basic Education implemented SFPs. At each school, quantitative data were collected from learners aged from 10 to 15 years using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with learners, teaching staff, community members and government officials involved in the implementation of SFPs. Document analysis, direct observation, and taking notes, photographs, Venn and seasonal -diagraming were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, crosstabulation and binary logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data obtained in the form of interview transcripts and field notes were analysed using thematic content analysis. An inductive approach was followed. This entails coding the data and observing emerging patterns, culminating in organising the results into common themes. A composite index was used as a measure of the quality of SFPs. Perceived benefits of SFPs were assessed based on a validated and standardised 5-point ordinal scale. It was observed that 80 % school children who participated in the study were satisfied with the quality of the SFPs provided to them. The results confirmed those obtained through focus group discussions and individual interviews. Overall satisfaction with the quality of the SFP in BLM significantly and positively depended on the following knowledge, in descending order of importance: fewer sugary foods should be consumed; fewer fatty foods should be consumed and eating various foods helps in proper growth and development. Four predictor variables significantly influenced satisfaction with SFPs. These were: knowledge that a variety of food types is helpful for growth and development [OR = 3.72; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.77, 7.83]; knowledge that eating too much fatty food is harmful [OR = 2.93; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.83, 4.68]; knowledge that eating too much sugary food is harmful [OR = 2.18; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.45, 3.29]; and knowledge that eating too much sweet food is harmful because it can make people fat [OR = 1.58; P < 0.05; 95% C.I. = 1.01, 2.50]. All participants agreed that SFPs alleviated hunger and benefited the learners and their families. Although the participants cited numerous other benefits accrued through SFPs, there were challenges that should be addressed. The involvement of community members in the SFPs was reported to be minimal such as cooking and serving food and working in the school gardens. This could be maximised because SFPs presented an opportunity for local food production and rural community development. Non-delivery of food by suppliers and the negative impact it had on learners was the major challenge. This observation implied that the SFPs constituted a readily available market, which the rural communities could exploit to improve their income, create jobs and enhance the rural economy. Therefore, SFPs and school gardens should be integrated with nutrition education to improve the learners‟ level of nutrition knowledge and reinforce the consumption of healthy foods. Although initially, the SFP had a community development component, this seemed to be overlooked. A framework that underscores strong partnerships among government departments, NGOs and the private sector in implementing community and/or rural development initiatives was developed. The framework is based on strong partnerships between key stakeholders, policy support, investments in resources and infrastructure for rural development and capacity building.
NRF