Health and Nutrition Considerations in Education Planning. 2. the Cost and Effectiveness of School-Based Interventions

Abstract

This paper discusses intervention packages and their costs, and then briefly overviews, from an economic perspective, the strength of the claim of health and nutrition interventions for school-age children on scarce resources. The authors conclude that, given what is known about the probable effect of health and nutrition interventions for learning and attendance, and given the relatively modest cost of a carefully designed, carefully targeted programme, the implication for educational planners is clear: more investment in child health and nutrition will pay off well for education. Cost-benefit analyses suggest that appropriate health and nutrition interventions in the schools are likely to prove to be very high-yield investments.