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Review
. 2015 Apr;18(5):936-43.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980014001001. Epub 2014 May 27.

Literature research of the Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students in China

Fan Zhang  1 , Xiaoqi Hu  1 , Zuyin Tian  2 , Qian Zhang  1 , Guansheng Ma  1
Affiliations
Review

Literature research of the Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students in China

Fan Zhang et al. Public Health Nutr. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES) in China and to share the experiences of developing and implementing nationwide school meal programmes with other countries.

Design: The article is based on a literature review of technical documents and reports of NIPRCES and relevant national legislation, technical reports and studies on school nutrition, minutes of meetings and national conferences, and official documents of the National Office of Student Nutrition and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Setting: People's Republic of China.

Subjects: Published papers, national policies, legislation and unpublished official documents.

Results: A total of 23 million rural compulsory education students were covered by NIPRCES. In the development and implementation process of NIPRCES, fifteen ministries and national committees were involved and an efficient collaborative mechanism was established. All NIPRCES-covered schools were required to serve meals on a daily basis. By the end of June 2012, the proportions of students choosing 'school feeding', 'food package' and 'family feeding' modes were respectively 64.0 %, 32.0 % and 4.0 %. The central government subsidized school meals annually by more than $US 2.5 billion and invested $US 4.8 billion on school kitchens to support this programme.

Conclusions: The NIPRCES is a significant movement of governmental nutritional intervention in China. Food safety, financial security, decentralization and other potential concerns should be considered and lessons can be learned from other countries. Further relevant research and a nationwide monitoring and evaluation programme are needed.

Keywords: Implementation.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Network of the public health system in China and individual members’ roles in the Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES). *CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention; †The Ministry of Health was renamed as the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China in March 2013
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