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[FSN Forum]
DISCUSSION No. 132 • FSN Forum digest No. 1260
Maximizing the Impact of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition
until 11 October 2016
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Dear Members,
We are happy to see that the online consultation Maximising the impact of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition> keeps attracting interesting comments. Today we share with you the summaries of the latest contributions and the first feedback note of Christine Campeau, the consultation's facilitator.
With this consultation we invite you to share your view on the necessary elements for the development of the Work Programme for the implementation of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025).
The consultation process is led by the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition and has been launched at a side event at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday 20 September.
For further information and background information please visit the FSN Forum webpage, available in all UN languages: English<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition>, Arabic<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/ar/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition>, Chinese<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/zh/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition>, French<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/fr/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition>, Russian<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/ru/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition> and Spanish. <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/es/activities/discussions/decade_nutrition>
You can send your contributions to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or post them online upon registration to the FSN Forum<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/>.
We look forward to keep receiving your ideas.
Your FSN Forum team
Christine Campeau, facilitator of the discussion
Dear all,
This is a great start to the discussion. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. I see a number of themes emerging.
[Christine Campeau]
One is the fact that policy decisions need to be evidence based. Linked to this is the importance of connecting decision makers with the academic community, empowering local institutions to be agents of change. Examples of academic groups working to make that connection include the Global Nutrition Report and its Independent Expert Group, International Union of Nutritional Sciences and World Public Health Nutritionists Association. The value of disaggregated data and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms were underlined in order to ensure that the nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions are having the desired impact and reach the most marginalized communities and households.
A strong case was made for rights based policies. As Pat Vanderkooy, Dietitian of Canada pointed out, it is our shared public responsibility to protect the environment and human rights “with dignity and equity, not by charity”. We need to raise awareness about the importance of good nutrition through broad-based campaigns with target groups ranging from primary school curriculums to education of the elderly. Civil society actors continue to be the biggest advocates for nutrition but we all have a role to play. The more informed people are, the better equipped they are to organize, mobilize and work with their governments and businesses towards the necessary changes in their food systems and to safeguard their rights.
There have also been some references on the need to build the economic case for investing in nutrition. According to the 2015 Global Nutrition Report, every US $1 spent on high impact nutrition actions such as exclusive breast-feeding yield at least US $16 in return. This support can be catalyzed by foreign assistance but, ultimately, nutrition needs to be a national priority supported by domestic finances to ensure long-term, sovereign growth. Thomas Herlehy, Independent Agricultural Consultant expressed it well when he wrote: “future economic development depends so much on future generations and their ability to lead healthy lives, contributing to the growth of the economy and making intellectual contributions to solve local problems”.
The importance of working together has also been emphasized. The GTSA (Groupe de Travail sur la Sécurité Alimentaire, [Food Security Working Group]) in Cameroon and the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement were mentioned as success stories that demonstrate the benefits of working across sectors and stakeholder groups towards a coordinated response to malnutrition.
Moving forward, I’m very interested to hear more about what you see as the roles and responsibilities of the various actors, both duty bearers and right holders. How do you think we can accelerate and improve the quality of commitments from the various actors to address all forms of malnutrition and how you see these activities being funded? Comments are of course welcome on all aspects and expectations for UN Decade of Action on Nutrition.
Thank you again for the thoughtful contributions, and I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Christine Campeau
Technical Officer, UNSCN
CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED
[icon]Brenda Shenute Namugumya, Wageningen University, Uganda
Brenda argues that focusing on health- or agriculture-specific interventions alone may not result in sustainable change, especially in areas where food availability is not the main problem. To be successful, the Decade needs to involve a wide variety of stakeholders belonging to different sectors, both public and private. Here, it is necessary to strengthen capacities of everyone involved, advocate and lobby in order to prioritize nutrition, empower households to drive change, and invest in monitoring the results.
Read the full contribution <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7397>
[icon]Lawal Luqman, The Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun state, Nigeria
Lawal also stresses the need for multistakeholder participation and for a strong awareness raising campaign to complement the Decade's activities.
Read the full contribution <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7398>
[icon]Francis Njuguna, new kcc, Kenya
Francis commends that nutrition is increasingly appearing high on national development agendas. In Kenya, for instance, nutrition is recognized as a key area of national focus and the government is implementing a nutrition policy and a mandatory food fortification programme. An important value added of the Decade would be to help harmonize the different national and regional initiatives in the best possible way.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7399>
[icon]Ibiyemi Olayiwola, Federal university of Agriculture Abeokuata, Nigeria
Ibiyemi suggests that the nutritional status of the elderly is an important issue that could be tackled in the context of the Decade.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7400>
[icon]Hélène Delisle, University of Montreal, Canada
Hélène lists a series of initiatives that should be pursued in order for the Decade to have a positive impact: support research, strengthen capacity and workforce in nutrition, assess the impact of distinguishing between nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive actions, and better define "nutrition".
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7401>
[icon]Alexandr Kaigorodtsev, East Kazakhstan State University, Kazakhstan
Alexandr sees the Decade as an opportunity to explore and study the potential benefits that new technologies, including GMOs, can have for nutrition.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7402>
[icon]Jessica John, Trinidad and Tobago
Jessica see the Decade as an opportunity to place greater emphasis on the concept of food sovereignty. She also highlights the utilization dimension of food security as one of the potential focus areas.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7403>
[icon]Pat Vanderkooy, Dietitians of Canada, Canada
Pat points out that in Canada, income insecurity needs to be addressed, as this the main barrier to improving food security and nutrition. She highlights that in intersectoral dialogues, value should be placed on upholding food sovereignty. In addition, Pat stresses that the protection of the environment and of human rights, in particular the right to food and water, must become entrenched beyond ‘movements’, as they are essential for a globally sustainable food system.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7404>
[icon]Isaac Bayor, University of Notre Dame, USA
Isaac argues that in order for progress to be made, the UN should enhance and consolidate its ‘Delivering as One’ framework, particularly in Africa. His expects to see an enhanced, integrated programme in his region, which brings together the various expertise of the UN organizations. Furthermore, Isaac stresses that one should look beyond food consumption at the household level. There is a specific need to implement activities that target local food vendors in African villages; in particular the problem of poorly prepared food and the issue of food waste should be addressed.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7405>
[icon]Lydia Browne, Grenada Food and Nutrition Council, Grenada
Lydia observes that although the number of people educated in the field of nutrition and public health has increased, their expertise has been underutilized.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7406>
[icon]Masresha Tessema, Wageningen University and Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Ethiopia
Maresha argues that in Ethiopia, multisector coordination in the field of nutrition has improved at the national level, but that at lower levels, coordination has been modest. He calls for stronger accountability and monitoring mechanisms for the sectors involved. In addition, he stresses that nutrition programmes should be context-specific, and that activities that need to be accelerated include implementing mandatory food fortification and promoting diversified consumption.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7407>
[icon]Wilma Freire Zaldumbide, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
According to Wilma, there is a need to move from knowledge to action. She argues that attention should be paid to successful experiences, like the ones of Brazil, Peru and Colombia. In this regard, experts should be given the opportunity to see the local realities from the perspective of the actors engaged in order to understand why some cases are successful and why others are not. The UN should facilitate the exchange of experiences of professionals, who could also develop recommendations.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7408>
[icon]Lindy Fenlason, USA
Lindy expects from the UN Decade of Action that the USA will increase its evidence-based programming, while simultaneously providing technical guidance and additional resources to other countries. She highlights the need for increased data collection on the prevalence of malnutrition and capacity building regarding ‘local nutrition leadership’. In addition, she stresses that obesity should be fully recognized as a form of malnutrition. Lindy argues that many sectors are related to nutrition, and that these should be supported in formulating focused action commitments.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7409>
[icon]Christine Nyaga, Kenya
Christine stresses that in order to adequately address malnutrition and food insecurity, intersectoral collaboration needs to be improved, involving public as well as private actors.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7410>
[icon]Lukiya Birungi, Uganda Action for Nutrition Society, Uganda
Lukiya points out that although in Uganda policies are well-written, their implementation has been limited: policy commitment deserves particular attention. In addition, she argues that better information provision regarding nutrition is needed. Furthermore, issues like urbanization, increasing incomes, growing populations and climate change have to be taken into account in policy-making in the context of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition.
Read the full contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7411>
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