Child Growth, Shocks, and Food Aid in Rural Ethiopia

Child Growth, Shocks, and Food Aid in Rural Ethiopia

Over the past decades child stunting in Ethiopia has persisted at alarming rates. While the country experienced several droughts during this period, it also received enormous amounts of food aid, leading some to question the effectiveness of food aid in reducing child malnutrition. Using nationally representative household surveys from 1995-96 and controlling for program placement, Yamano, Alderman, and Christiaensen find that children between 6 and 24 months experienced about 0.9 cm less growth over a six-month period in communities where half the crop area was damaged compared with those without crop damage. Food aid was also found to have a substantial effect on the growth of children in this age group. And on average, the total amount of food aid appeared to be sufficient to protect children against plot damage, an encouraging sign that food aid can act as an effective insurance mechanism, though its cost-effectiveness needs further investigation.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yamano, Takashi, Alderman, Harold, Christiaensen, Luc
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2003-08
Subjects:AGRICULTURE, AID ALLOCATION, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILDHOOD MALNUTRITION, CORRELATION COEFFICIENT, DATA SETS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT ISSUES, DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, DISEASES, EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC REVIEW, EXPENDITURE LEVEL, FAMINE, FOOD AID, FOOD AID PROGRAMS, FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, FOOD CONSUMPTION, FOOD DISTRIBUTION, FOOD FOR WORK, FOOD INSECURITY, FOOD POLICY, FOOD PRICES, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUBSIDIES, HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INTERVENTION, LIVING STANDARDS, MALNUTRITION, NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, POLICY RESEARCH, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, PUBLIC TRANSFERS, RURAL AREAS, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, SCHOOL CHILDREN, SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, TARGETING, URBAN AREAS, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, CROP LOSSES, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/08/2504036/child-growth-shocks-food-aid-rural-ethiopia
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18135
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Summary:Over the past decades child stunting in Ethiopia has persisted at alarming rates. While the country experienced several droughts during this period, it also received enormous amounts of food aid, leading some to question the effectiveness of food aid in reducing child malnutrition. Using nationally representative household surveys from 1995-96 and controlling for program placement, Yamano, Alderman, and Christiaensen find that children between 6 and 24 months experienced about 0.9 cm less growth over a six-month period in communities where half the crop area was damaged compared with those without crop damage. Food aid was also found to have a substantial effect on the growth of children in this age group. And on average, the total amount of food aid appeared to be sufficient to protect children against plot damage, an encouraging sign that food aid can act as an effective insurance mechanism, though its cost-effectiveness needs further investigation.

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