Table 1.

Roles and responsibilities of ministries within the Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES) collaborative mechanism

Ministry	Roles and responsibilities
(1) Ministry of Education	Policy maker and leading party in NIPRCES:
	1. To legislate the regulations and acts
	2. To lead the organization and implementation
	3. To cooperate with other departments on programme planning and improvement
(2) Ministry of Finance, and (3) National Audit Office	Funding provider and manager:
	1. To provide funding
	2. To inspect and manage the budget utilization
(4) Ministry of Health*	Technical supporter, dietary guideline provider, nutrition and health monitor:
	1. To conduct nutrition surveillance
	2. To provide dietary guideline and technical supports
	3. To organize and conduct nutrition education and staff training
(5) Propaganda Department of the Central Committee	Mobilization and media supervision:
of the Communist Party of China	1. To organize the community mobilization
	2. To report the overall progress objectively
	3. To create friendly public opinion and atmosphere
(6) Ministry of Supervision	Programme inspection and supervision:
	1. To inspect and supervise the government’s performance during implementation
	2. To investigate, discipline and punish the activities violating the law
(7) Ministry of Agriculture	Technical support on food products:
	1. To provide the technical support and quality control on food/agricultural products production
(8) State Administration for Industry and Commerce	Administrative management of catering companies:
	1. To be responsible for the registration and administrative management of all catering companies
	2. To inspect and manage the food circulation process
(9) State Food and Drug Administration, and (10) General	Food security inspection and supervision:
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and (11) Office of Food Safety	1. To inspect and manage the food service process
Committee of the State Council	2. To deal with food safety events or emergencies

Note: Other involved ministries and national committees were the (12) National Development and Reform Commission, (13) National Supply and Marketing Cooperative General Agency, (14) Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and (15) China Women’s Federation. Their overall responsibility is to provide full administrative support, and human and financial resources for this collaborative programme.

*The Ministry of Health was renamed as the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China in March 2013.