Abstract
Malnutrition in children is one of the biggest challenges in Latin America. In Panama, 19% of children under five years of age suffer from malnutrition, specially in marginalized provinces and indigenous regions. In response to this problem, the Ministerio de Desarrollo Social developed the National Plan for Food and Nutrition Safety. It proposes a set of actions for the prevention and control of malnutrition, one of which is the implementation of sustainable school feeding programs, such as PACE. PACE consists of the distribution of a nutritionally enhanced cookie, fortified semi-skimmed milk and enriched nutritious cream for elementary students in public schools in the country. This type of program can constitute a social strategy to improve education, health, nutrition and poverty reduction and, in turn, be an effective public policy to guarantee the right to adequate food. In this study, we conduct a qualitative evaluation of the program to understand its impact, identify areas for improvement, and explore beneficiaries’ experiences. Individual interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic observations were conducted with parents, educators, and other school staff responsible for the distribution of food. In addition, a community participation approach is used to ensure work that highlights the voice and needs of participants’ communities. This research provides valuable in-depth insights that will serve for the continuous improvement of the program and contribute to strengthening food and nutrition security in the country.
Presenters
Andrea MelgarResearcher, Centro Internacional de Estudios Políticos y Sociales, Panamá, Panama
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Child malnutrition, School lunch programs, Community engaged research, Panama
