Feeding the undernourished under‐fives, part two

The operational, economic, and cultural obstacles to pre‐school nutrition programs outlined in the first half of this paper have arisen largely because few nationwide programs have as yet gone beyond the thinking of a nutrition program as being more than the mere distribution of food. Reaching the pre‐school child is often perceived only as a logistic exercise in delivery and distribution, and the success of the program is thus judged solely on the basis of the speed, economy and efficiency of distributive systems. Under those circumstances, available resources are not used to their fullest potential and program effectiveness, in terms of demonstrable nutritional benefits to the recipient and institution building, continues to be disappointing when weighed against the cost and effort involved. The per capita cost of reaching the pre‐school child, given the difficulty of distribution via an inadequate number of scattered and ill‐attended centers, will probably continue to be exorbitant in most places as long as pre‐school feeding programs are regarded as exactly comparable with school feeding in all respects except the age of the beneficiary.