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With research staff from more than 70 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Lilia Bliznashka

Lily Bliznashka is a Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit. Her research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of multi-input nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions and the mechanisms through which they work to improve maternal and child health and nutrition globally. She has worked in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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events

Counting the Cost: School Meal Programs in the 21st Century

Co-organized by IFPRI and the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition

May 5, 2026

  • 9:00 – 10:30 am (America/New_York)
  • 3:00 – 4:30 pm (Europe/Amsterdam)
  • 6:30 – 8:00 pm (Asia/Kolkata)
Register

The Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), invites you to a policy seminar exploring the evolving evidence on school meal programmes and their costs. As one of the world’s largest social protection interventions, reaching over 460 million children globally, school meals play a critical role in advancing education, health, and nutrition outcomes, particularly for the most disadvantaged.

Despite a strong evidence base on their benefits, significant gaps remain in understanding the true, full costs of delivering school meals across diverse contexts. This seminar will present new cross-country evidence alongside a synthesis of existing research, offering fresh insights into cost structures, efficiency, and sustainability. It will also examine how changing food systems and nutrition challenges are shaping the future of school feeding programmes.

Bringing together researchers, policymakers, and development partners, the event will provide a platform to discuss key policy implications, identify priority evidence gaps, and strengthen collaboration toward more cost-effective, equitable, and sustainable school meal systems worldwide.

Moderator Welcome Remarks

School Meals are Evolving: Has the Evidence Kept up?

  • Donald Bundy, Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

New Evidence on the Costs of School Meals: Cross-country Analysis on the Costs of School Meals

Discussion: Reflecting on Findings

  • Ilaria Dettori, Director, Nutrition, School Meals and Social Protection Service, World Food Programme (WFP)
  • Edward Makumbe, African Union Commission, Zimbabwe
  • Alessandra Pereira, University of Rio De Janeiro
  • Afton Halloran, Senior Scientific Manager, Global and Environmental Health, Novo Nordisk Foundation
  • Peiman Milani, Director, Food, The Rockefeller Foundation
  • Arlene Mitchell, Executive Director, Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)

Closing Remarks

  • Donald Bundy, Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Aulo Gelli, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

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