Preschool Nutrition and Subsequent Schooling Attainment: Longitudinal Evidence from Tanzania

A study was conducted in the Kagera region of Tanzania to detect the impact than an improvement in nutritional status in childhood will have on the child and the future adult. The study explain the impact of nutritional status on both delayed enrollment and final grade achieved by accounting for right-hand truncation of the outcome variable, without which the impact of malnutrition on schooling would be exaggerated. The study combined the 2004 Kagera Health and Development Survey (KHDS) with all individuals who were household members in 1991-94 KHDS. The result shows that the children who are malnourished have lower schooling and delay their school entry. Also the improved health during childhood is effective in increasing the likelihood of completing more grades of schooling. The study revealed that the successful early childhood nutrition interventions can lead to improved education attainments for adolescents.