The cost of improving nutritional outcomes through food aid programs: is more and longer better?

BY JEF L. LEROY, JESSICA HECKERT, DEANNA K. OLNEY, SUSAN RICHTER, ELYSE IRUHIRIYE, MARIE T. RUEL AND TRACY BROWN

This post is the fifth in a series on a research project in Guatemala and Burundi that evaluated how to optimize food assistance programs for maximum impact. Read the first piece here, second here, third here, and fourth here.

Food-assisted maternal and child health and nutrition (FA-MCHN) interventions are commonly used in low- and middle-income countries to address problems of hunger, food insecurity, and undernutrition. These programs have been criticized for being too expensive, yet there is little evidence on their cost or cost-effectiveness. Evidence shows that these programs can work, but are the costs reasonable given the size of the impacts?

Photo credit: Mercy Corps