CHAIRMAN: The Fifteenth Meeting of the Commission II is being called to order. The first Item, as I said this morning, is the approval of the Draft Report - Part 3 on the Review of Field Programmes, Item 17, and the Strategy for Fisheries Management and Development, Item 18. I give the floor to the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
Horacio M. CARANDANG (Chairman, Drafting Committee): Thank you very much, Mr Chairman. I come to you again on behalf of the Drafting Committee, and I have the honour to present to you the Draft Report on Item 17, the Review of the Field Programmes and Item 18, the Progress Report on the Strategy for Fisheries Management and Development. We believe it is a good report inasmuch as it reflects the decisions taken and strikes a balance between the values and opinions expressed in the Committee. The Drafting Committee did not have any special difficulties in adopting this report, and I hope also you will be able to adopt it without any great difficulty.
CHAIRMAN: Now I present the Draft Report, Part 3, as a whole to Commission II. Are there any comments in addition? There are none: the report as a whole is adopted. It remains for me to thank the Chairman of the Drafting Committee once again for a good draft.
Paragraphs 1 to 38 approved
Les paragraphes 1 à 38 sont approuvés
Los párrafos 1 a 38 son aprobados
Draft Report of Commission II, Part 3, was adopted
Le Projet de Rapport de la Commission II, troisième partie, est adopté
El Proyecto de Informe de la Comisión II, Parte 3, es aprobado
B.P. DUTIA (Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department): Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates and distinguished observers, I greatly appreciate this opportunity to inform Member Governments of the progress that is being made in the preparations for the
International Conference on Nutrition (ICN). Since the endorsement by the Council in June 1989, and the Conference in November 1989, of the proposal to convene an International Conference on Nutrition jointly by FAO and WHO, Member Governments have been kept informed of ICN preparations through various channels, including the Ninety-eighth Session of the Council in November 1990; the Regional Conferences in 1990; an official communication to all Member Governments issued in March 1991; the Eleventh Session of the Committee on Agriculture in April 1991; the Ninety-ninth Session of the Council in June 1991; and the Hundredth Session of the Council earlier this month. The Council's discussion at this last session on ICN is circulated as document C 91/LIM/3.
The paper before the Commission, C 91/27, summarizes the significant progress that has been made since the previous Progress Report to the Council in June 1991. The document before you provides information on country and regional-level activities, as well as on the technical and administrative préparations that are under way. I shall take this opportunity to provide an additional update on ICN activities undertaken since the document before you was prepared in August 1991.
The International Conference on Nutrition is proposed to be held during the first half of December 1992 in Rome. The Conference itself will be preceded by a preparatory meeting, which is planned to be held in Geneva at the end of August, in order that Member Governments can discuss the preparations for the ICN at a technical level, prior to their consideration by the Conference itself.
The ICN is the first global Intergovernmental Conference on Nutrition, the final outcome of which will be based on the preparatory activities organized at the country and regional/sub-regional levels. This will be accomplished by ensuring that extensive country-level preparations are undertaken, which will lead to the consideration, at regional and sub-regional meetings, of appropriate actions and strategies for tackling nutrition problems. These in turn will provide inputs into the global Plan of Action which will be considered for adoption by the ICN in December 1992. The Plan of Action is expected to recommend a broad range of actions to improve food production and supplies, health care, education and living conditions, in order to lead to better nutritional status for all.
We have been greatly encouraged by the response of member countries to the ICN, and especially by the many country-level activities that have been initiated as a result of the Conference preparatory process. As shown in document C 91/27-Corr.1, by 1 November of this year 115 countries had appointed ICN country focal points and were preparing country papers on their nutrition problems and needed actions. Since then, this number has increased further, so that as of today, 21 November, 122 countries have appointed ICN Focal Points and they are preparing country papers. Moreover, due to the multi-faceted nature of nutritional problems involving food, health care and other aspects, national inter-sectoral Committees or Working Groups with representatives from a wide range of Ministries, including Agriculture, Health, Education, Planning, Economy and Trade, have been formed in 73 countries in order to assist with preparations by the ICN. In addition, 68 countries have indicated that they have convened or plan to convene national ICN-related seminars or workshops.
These numbers are indeed encouraging. Of even more importance is the fact that in many countries these ICN preparatory activities are bringing the various Ministries, sectors and interests together to focus on nutritional problems and on what can be done to alleviate them through coordinated efforts in agriculture, health, education and social and economic development. There is thus a reasonable basis to hope that this inter-sectoral approach to nutrition that has been developed at the country level will not only help in the preparation for the ICN but will also facilitate the follow-up of ICN recommendations in the countries after the Conference is over.
Several governments have been able to effectively mobilize the technical and financial resources needed for their in-country preparations. However, many have had to make requests for assistance. FAO and WHO have provided some funds from the ICN budget to 29 country focal points in developing countries to assist in their country preparations. In addition, technical backstopping through country-project personnel, consultants, and Headquarters staff has been provided where possible, and FAO and WHO country representatives are working with country focal points. Moreover, 10 bilateral donors and UN agencies are providing assistance to countries for their preparations, including the development of their country papers and the organization of national seminars.
A key ICN preparatory activity will be the convening of joint FAO/WHO regional/sub-regional meetings in early 1992. The first meeting is scheduled to be held in Bangkok from 27-31 January 1992 and is intended to encompass the countries of Asia and the Pacific region. Additional regional and sub-regional meetings are scheduled for the months of February, March and April 1992 for francophone Africa, anglophone Africa, Latin American, the Caribbean, Eastern and Central Europe and the Near East.
The regional/sub-regional ICN meetings will integrate country-level and global preparations and help develop regional focus. Because of this, we place an especially high value on these meetings. The deliberations in the Governing Bodies have also clearly indicated that Member Nations also value this process. The regional/sub-regional meetings will provide an opportunity to review the nutrition situation in the region, to evaluate relevant policies and programmes and to discuss strategies for ensuring nutritional well-being. Relevant extracts from country papers and theme papers developed for the ICN will provide background for assessment of regional nutrition problems and strategies to address them. As I have mentioned already, the results of these meetings will provide input into the global Assessment Paper and the global Declaration and Plan of Action to be considered by the ICN. We hope that this approach will catalyze ongoing national regional-level commitment and action directed at improving nutrition, prior to, during and particularly after the Conference.
The FAO and WHO offices are using their scarce resources to organize the regional meetings, and some funds have been set aside from the ICN budget for this purpose. Some donor governments and NGOs have also provided funds for country delegations' participation. However, many countries still need assistance to participate in these regional meetings, especially if, as is hoped, representatives from more than one sector are to attend. I sincerely hope that delegations during this Conference will be in a position not only to confirm their commitments of financial support but also to indicate readiness to make more funds available for the regional and sub-regional meetings, for truly much more is needed. Once again, we are appealing to
donors to assist and thus give further momentum to the genuine "bottom-up" preparations for the ICN that have been initiated. The members of the ICN Joint Secretariat will indeed be very happy to meet with interested donor countries to provide further detailed reports on country and regional-level activities and discuss possibilities for supporting them.
At the same time that country-level activities are taking place, FAO and WHO are preparing a series of documents to address the key nutritional issues around which the technical content of the ICN is being developed. These documents consist of an overall assessment paper examining nutrition problems and programmes throughout the world, and a Declaration and a Plan of Action. In support of these, theme papers and case studies have been commissioned which will examine a number of issues such as: nutrition assessment and monitoring, improving household food security, protecting consumers through improved food quality and safety, improving caring capacity, preventing and managing infectious disease, promoting appropriate diets and healthy lifestyles, preventing micro-nutrient deficiency diseases and incorporating nutrition objectives into development policies and programmes.
Various national, international and non-governmental organizations are assisting in the preparation of these documents. For example, UNICEF, IFPRI (the International Food Policy Research Institute based in Washington) and the ACC/SCN Secretariat are preparing major theme papers, as are the Nutrition Institute of India, and the Food and Drug Administration of the US. Other sister UN bodies and non-governmental organizations are also providing specific contributions in their areas of competence for inclusion in the main documents. A meeting of the authors of the assessment and theme papers was held in Rome on 7-8 November 1991 to ensure complementarity of the papers and to coordinate concise coverage of all issues to be addressed.
We attach great value to constructive and effective involvement of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the ICN process. This is particularly important to enhance and support the country and regional-level preparatory and follow-up activities. We continue to encourage their active participation in various ICN-related activities, as well as those tying into the activities planned for 1992 World Food Day, which has Food and Nutrition as its theme. While a number of national NGOs are involved in country-level preparations, their ability to participate in the regional and the Preparatory Committee Meeting will depend on their ability to mobilize the resources required to attend. We had very useful discussions on ICN with the development NGOs of the EEC some two weeks ago. We also particularly value the input of the Rome-based International NGOs. They have been working with us during our preparations, and the ICN was a major Agenda Item in the FAO Conference-related informal meeting of international non-governmental organizations which was held on 12 November. The report of this meeting is circulated as document C 91/INF/1, in which paragraphs 7 to 14 summarize the discussion at this meeting on the ICN. The Secretariat will welcome comments from delegates on the possible ways of NGO involvement in the ICN in the light of paragraphs 34 to 36 of document C 91/27, as well as document C 91/INF/1.
Finally, I would like to emphasize the importance that we have attached to the valuable comments and advice we have received from Member Governments in their deliberations in the Governing Bodies at this Conference. We again look forward to your comments and guidance as the preparations for the ICN
proceed. Let me reiterate in closing that the ICN is not an end in itself and that the final success of the Conference can be measured by the commitment and follow-up actions taken at all levels to prevent and alleviate problems of malnutrition and hunger, following the ICN in December 1992. We have high hopes that this will be possible, especially as the preparatory process for ICN has generated a ground swell of country-level and regional and sub-regional activities in the vital area of nutrition. I thank you for your attention.
Christian BONAPARTE (Haïti): Je vous remercie de me donner la parole en premier lieu sur un point aussi important que la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition. Je serai cependant bref. Je tiens aussi à remercier M. Dutia pour sa présentation exhaustive du contexte et des différents éléments à prendre en compte à ce jour quant à la CIN. La mise au courant des préparatifs de la CIN a été bien menée et, de façon précise, notre délégation a examiné les différents documents soumis à la Conférence et principalement le document C 91/27. Nous nous félicitons aussi du travail fait par la Direction générale, et notamment la mise sur pied du Comité d'orientation mixte.
La CIN est importante, je crois, pour plus d'un pays, et particulièrement le nôtre. Mais elle n'est pas importante sur le thème. Je pense que son importance doit surtout résider dans le fait de pouvoir élaborer des stratégies, non seulement au niveau de la production, mais aussi dans la qualité de celle-ci. Et Haïti espère tirer des fruits de cette expérience et de la Conférence pour une meilleure productivité puisque l'engagement final est tout de même la productivité.
Je me permettrai maintenant aussi de citer un document de la FAO, un rapport spécial Culture et pénuries alimentaires d'octobre 1991, N /?/10 qui, à la page 34, donne des informations quant à notre pays; je cite:
"A la suite des événements de fin septembre, la situation du ravitaillement déjà précaire dans le nord-ouest du fait de la médiocre récolte céréalière de la campagne principale de 1991 risque de se dégrader encore au cours des prochains mois dans les zones urbaines. Cela est attribuable à l'interruption début octobre de l'aide alimentaire et économique des Etats-Unis et à l'embargo commercial imposé à Haïti par l'OUA le 9 octobre. Une assistance humanitaire comprenant des vivres et autres secours pourrait être nécessaire".
Laissez-moi vous préciser, M. le Président, que notre pays est déjà engagé. Et vous comprendrez, après la lecture de ce texte, que c'est une question qui est plus importante pour nous à plusieurs niveaux. Haïti est très concernée, surtout face à une carence d'informations et d'études sur les aspects nutritionnels, voire même sur la diète alimentaire dans notre pays. Nous avons essayé récemment de poser des jalons au niveau institutionnel et d'établir un bureau nutritionnel au sein de notre Ministère de l'agriculture. D'ailleurs, des pourparlers ont été entamés avec la FAO, lesquels ont été interrompus par notre situation sociopolitique désolante et toute récente.
Ce que je voudrais exprimer aussi, c'est que la suggestion sur Íes préparatifs au niveau régional et les moyens par le canal des réunions régionales et sous-régionales de la CIN est un excellent moyen et devrait bénéficier de la meilleure attention et des appuis extrabudgétaires, comme
précisé dans les articles 17 et 18 du document C 91/27. Nous espérons que nous serons présents à Genève en août 1992 et nous souhaitons que toutes les parties intéressées et les institutions engagées y travaillent dès à présent.
Jorgen Skovgaard NIELSEN (Denmark) : I should first of all like to thank Mr Dutia and his collaborators for their comprehensive descriptiçn on the item in front of us and for the preparatory activities for the International Conference on Nutrition. Although this item on the Agenda is mainly for information, I should like briefly to inform you of the proceedings in Denmark and, in particular, to express our general views on what ought to be the possible outcome of this item.
The elaboration of our national report is proceeding well. We have established a focal point at the Danish National FAO Committee under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. A close cooperation has been established between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We have taken note of the efforts made by the Secretariat to involve the NGOs closely in the preparatory work.
Some 12 or 15 years ago Denmark and other Nordic countries attached a high priority to activities in the area of nutrition. Unfortunately, the interest has faded somewhat in our countries since activities in the UN system remained below our expectations. The procedures of the preparations are very elaborate and somewhat complex. After thorough consideration, Denmark has decided not to avail extra-budgetary assistance to the preparatory work outside Denmark. The reason is that we have difficulty in seeing sufficient justification for holding a worldwide Conference just for the sake of increasing the "awareness and dimension of nutrition and diet-related problems" and to "promote cooperation between various private and public sectors".
If approximately US$2.5 million reserved at the Programme of Work and Budget, and at least the same amount from extra-budgetary sources, is to be justified, consensus on a global strategy or at least an action plan ought to be the goal of the Conference, as a general framework of the follow-up activities at national and regional level. Although we are very much looking forward to seeing the case studies and thematic papers, we find that the nutritional issues are already quite well analysed.
What we need now is a shared political responsibility for health and agriculture in order to enhance every human being's physical and intellectual capacity by improving substantially her or his nutritional status.
Assefa YILAIA (Ethiopia): The Ethiopian delegation would like to thank Mr Dutia for his clear and lucid introductory explanation. I would like raise one question on which further elaboration would be appreciated.
The Ethiopian delegation has examined the document on the progress of the preparations for the International Conference on Nutrition. Our delegation is satisfied with the progress of the preparation and would like to thank
all those who contributed towards the success and the progress achieved. We hope that further progress will be achieved between now and the Conference in 1992.
Paragraph 14 of document C 91/27 refers to the need for financial and technical support needed by developing countries, adequately to prepare for, and participate in, the follow-up of ICN. Since it was explicitly indicated that sponsoring agencies are not in a position to provide this support, additional donor assistance was required. We would be interested in finding out if some success were achieved in this regard after the documents were despatched.
In subsequent paragraphs it is indicated that few countries have responded to the need for additional funding. Whilst appealing for this support, we should like to know how far this objective has been achieved after the documents, to which I have just referred, were despatched to Member Nations. I know that some corrections were made in the two documents which follow the document to which I referred, but none of this was dealt with.
Our delegation feels that the financial support will increase the participation of Member Nations both in the preparatory stage and in participation in the Conference itself. We hope that financial difficulties will not hinder the valuable participation of developing countries, including our own.
Art WRIGHT (Canada): We should like to thank the Secretariat for their concise document for the International Conference on Nutrition, as well as to thank Mr Dutia for his very clear update and concise introduction to this item. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the members of the Joint FAO/WHO Secretariat who, we know, are working very hard to make the ICN a success.
Canada's national paper for the International Conference on Nutrition involved an extensive consultative process led by the Canadian Department on Health and Welfare with participation from other Government Departments, notably the Departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Oceans, External Affairs and the Canadian International Development Agency.
We are also in consultation with a number of non-governmental organizations for their input on this important subject.
Following regional coordination, we anticipate that the Canadian paper should be ready some time in the next month.
Because the focus of this Conference is properly placed on nutritional issues in developing countries, Canada has decided to provide assistance for the preparation of country papers by four developing nations in South Asia. This assistance will be provided to the International Development Research Centre and the Canadian International Development Agency. We hope that we shall have sufficient funds to hold a sub-regional consultation in South Asia prior to the ICN.
As other delegates have mentioned, there continues to be a need for many countries to receive support in order to participate fully in the preparatory process. We wonder whether it would be possible for the Secretariat, either following this Conference or shortly thereafter, to be
able to circulate perhaps to Member Nations a list of those developing countries which have attracted similar donor support for their preparations and those which have not. I am not sure about the process involved here but this might facilitate the support of other donors for the participation of developing nations in the ICN preparatory process, which we know is highly desirable.
Document C 91/27 mentions in paragraph 31 that direct contribution to background papers from UNICEF, IFAD, UNHCR, UNU, WFP and IAEA have been forthcoming. We would appreciate receiving some details on these and any others, for potential contributions that will be coming from other international organizations.
The Canadian delegation would like to commend FAO for its follow-up to the nutritional aspects of last year's World Summit for Children and also to extend appreciation to the Organization on its part in co-sponsoring the Micro-Nutrient Conference which took place in Montreal last month. We see each of these steps as a logical part of the process leading up to the ICN Conference.
Canada particularly welcomes the important role which non-governmental organizations will play in the ICN. This has been mentioned in paragraphs 34 and 35 of the report. We believe that national NGOs have a very important role to play. We are delighted that they are being encouraged to send representatives to the various national, sub-regional and regional meetings, as well as to the preparatory meetings themselves. We believe that Headquarters' representation of international NGOs is also to be encouraged. We note that NGOs will be invited to Prep.Conf.1, in August 1992, as Observers. These are very welcome developments.
We believe that NGOs have much to contribute to the process and, therefore, we welcome the formation of an NGO/FAO/WHO Working Group, as referred to in paragraphs 13 and 14 of document C 91/INF/1, concerning the meeting of the informal group of international non-governmental organizations which was held on 12 November. We believe that NGOs should be permitted to participate actively and freely in the Working Groups associated with the PrepCom. simply because of their experience in addressing problems of nutrition in many countries. Their valuable experience does need to be integrated and we believe that their views will help us in the remaining preparatory process, including the development of the Assessment Paper, the Draft Plan of Action and Declaration, and throughout the Conference documentation.
Given the enormous task in preparing for the Conference, we fully understand that there has been little time to focus on the post-Conference follow-up, but we note the remarks of the Secretariat that this is a very important part of the process. Perhaps, the Secretariat could advise us on how the results of the Conference can be incorporated into the programming of FAO and other organizations.
Canada would also be interested in the Secretariat's views on how it might use the opportunity presented by the ICN to extend or re-focus its own activities in the nutritional field.
In the past Canada has expressed some reservations about the timing of this Conference, but we have accepted the views of the majority to proceed, and we are attempting to facilitate the process. We therefore welcome the
Secretariat's assurances that preparations are proceeding more rapidly than perhaps was anticipated some six months ago. Nevertheless, we still have some concerns that the tightness of the schedule poses a significant obstacle to the effective production of papers and the essential associated process of consultation at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. We hope that progress is sufficient so that the primary purpose of the ICN, to focus on the nutritional requirements of the developing nations, can be adequately addressed.
This Conference represents an important development opportunity, and we strongly endorse the comments made by Mr Dutia in his introduction that the ICN itself is not the end of a process but rather the beginning of a more concentrated approach to nutritional issues. It is a step in the continuing process of strengthening the commitment and actions needed to alleviate problems of hunger and malnutrition, and we urge all Member Countries to ensure that we all make use of the process associated with this Conference and the Conference itself to advance the cause of improved nutrition in the developing world.
Ricardo VELAZQUEZ HUERTA (México) : Ante todo deseamos agradecer a la Secretaria por la presentación de los documentos relativos, y al Sr. Dutia por la excelente exposición que hiciera sobre el tema.
México ve con profundo interés la celebración de esta primera Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición a celebrarse el año venidero. Estimamos que es urgente e indispensable continuar con los esfuerzos para contrarrestar el hambre, la malnutrición y las enfermedades relacionadas con la alimentación.
México hará su mejor esfuerzo por el éxito de esta Conferencia, y nos complace informar que estamos completamente listos para hospedar la Conferencia Regional para América Latina en abril del año entrante. Faltan algunos detalles que precisar, pero creemos estar ya en condiciones de decir que estamos preparados para ello. Nuestra constante comunicación y coordinación con los órganos responsables de la FAO, nos hace ver con optimismo los resultados de la Conferencia Regional que se celebrará en la Ciudad de México. Utilizaremos como salones de sesiones los de la propia Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores de México.
Agradecemos al personal de la FAO, que ha estado en constante contacto con nosotros para este propósito, especialmente al Sr. de la Taille y al Sr. Lupien. Podemos decir que México designó desde hace meses un punto focal para coordinar los trabajos de la Conferencia Regional, recayendo esta responsabilidad en un organismo que en México se conoce como el CONAL y que es la Coordinación Nacional para la Alimentación, que tiene un nivel ministerial y en el que participan aproximadamente 16 instituciones nacionales involucradas con la alimentación y que desarrollan distintas actividades en distintos campos, bien sea de la salud, del comercio y de la propia alimentación y nutrición. Contamos con un Instituto Nacional de Nutrición que, nos da orgullo decir, está muy bien instalado y es uno de los mejores del mundo. Quien dirige esta CONAL es el Licenciado Carlos Torres Manso, quien estuviera la semana pasada en este foro presidiendo la delegación mexicana. Bajo la coordinación del CONAL se instaló el Comité Nacional para la Conferencia Internacional de Nutrición el pasado octubre, con la participación de 21 organismos del sector público, social y privado.
De igual manera, en el mes de Octubre se celebró el primer Seminario Nacional de Evaluación de Programas Alimentarios y Nutricionales de México, con la participación de las instituciones responsables de conducir las políticas y los programas alimentarios nacionales. Hemos contratado ya grupos consultores para la integración del informe nacional y en este mes, hace una semana, del 11 al 13, se realizó el primer Seminario Nacional sobre Enfermedades Carenciales por Micronutrimientos en el Instituto Nacional de Nutrición, y está por celebrarse, del 24 al 29, el Seminario Técnico preparatorio de la Conferencia Internacional de Nutrición en la ciudad de Morelia (Michuacán), a unos 200 kilómetros de la ciudad de México. En este Seminario Técnico, participarán aproximadamente 35 expertos en áreas interdisciplinarias relacionadas con el estudio de las causas y los efectos de la malnutrición.
Dicho lo anterior, precisamos estar listos para realizar la Conferencia Regional. Esperamos que sus resultados contribuyan a los objetivos de la Conferencia Internacional y deseamos firmemente que sus resultados puedan vincularse a aquellos de otras conferencias y otros programas internacionales que tengan que ver con el desarrollo.
François ROUX (Belgique): Permettez-moi tout d'abord de remercier le Secrétariat pour les efforts qu'il fait pour nous tenir informés sur les préparatifs de la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition, et permettez-moi ensuite d'informer à mon tour officiellement et de confirmer que le Royaume de Belgique a pris toute une série de mesures pour préparer cette Conférence. Le Ministère de la santé publique a été désigné comme l'organe responsable de la préparation de la CIN. Et par ailleurs, un Conseil National de la Nutrition a été créé par arrêté royal, et ce Comité est constitué de nos plus éminents nutritionnistes.
Enfin, un Comité ad hoc prépare actuellement la contribution belge à la Conférence, et celle-ci sera double: il s'agira d'une part d'une participation à la préparation du document de base; et d'autre part, d'une collaboration avec les autorités du Burundi pour la présentation de la situation et de la stratégie alimentaire de ce pays.
D'autre part, la Belgique a également décidé d'aider, grâce à une contribution financière spéciale, une quinzaine de pays en développement pour les aider à mettre au point le rapport national.
Par ces activités, la Belgique n'a fait en fait que se conformer aux indications qui avaient été formulées par le Conseil de la FAO lors de sa centième session, concernant la réunion du Comité préparatoire qui se tiendra en août 1992 à Genève avant la Conférence elle-même qui est prévue finalement pour décembre 1992.
En conclusion, nous continuons d'estimer que, pour que la CIN ait véritablement un sens, il est essentiel d'y associer la participation de tous les membres de la communauté internationale.
C. Sivasothy POOLOKASINGHAM (Sri Lanka): I should first like to congratulate the Secretariat on the excellent documentation prepared for this Commission today. I wish to express my appreciation to Mr Dutia for the summarized introduction which is both informative and comprehensive. The document before us contains a range of activities presently in
progress. While fully endorsing the Programme of Action envisaged in the paper, my delegation notes with great satisfaction the progress made so far by the Secretariat in coordinating the work with other international agencies, donor governments, NGOs and private sector organizations. In response to the recommendations made by the Director-Generals of FAO and WHO, my Government has initiated a national programme towards the preparation of the ICN.
The Nutrition and Poverty Alleviation Policy Division of the Ministry of Policy Planning and Implementation is the designated focal point in Sri Lanka. In view of the multi-disciplinary nature of the nutritional programme, my Government has established an inter-sectorial Committee to examine the magnitude of the nutritional problem. That Committee would advise and formulate a strategy at national level to overcome this problem. One main feature of the Committee is to plan a series of seminars at national level involving ministries, local Government bodies, NGOs and private sector organizations.
My delegation wishes to place on record our deep appreciation for the financial assistance extended to us by the International Development Research Centre of Canada, IDRC, intended for the preparation of the ICN Country Paper of Sri Lanka, which has been confirmed to us by the FAO/WHO -ICN Joint Secretariat.
I wish to quote Professor Agostino Pierro of the Istituto di Clinica Pediatrica of the University of Rome, who states the following:
"Malnutrition is still one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in childhood. It changes significantly body composition and increases susceptibility to infections and has detrimental effects on the brain, liver, skin, kidney and immunity system. Correct nutrition is particularly important for children because their energy requirements should be devoted not only to maintain the resting energy expenditure but also to support growing".
That is an extract from a report prepared by Professor Agostino Pierro on the malnutrition problems pertaining to our country.
Recognizing the fact that nutrition is the first and foremost step in the development of human resources, my Government has introduced a wholesome nutritious midday meal, free-of-charge, to every student - they number approximately four million - throughout the country.
Malnutrition and poverty go hand in hand. The poverty alleviation programme, namely Janasaviya, has been launched by my Government to combat poverty which has a direct impact on the problems of nutrition.
Creating an awareness of malnutrition cannot be confined to the normal mass media such as television, radio and newspapers, as those media channels are not always available and are often beyond the reach of the poorer sector in many developing countries.
My delegation wishes to point out that there should be a continued assessment of the progress at national, regional and international levels, and my delegation agrees that the ICN is not viewed as an end in itself, as
stated in paragraph 47 of the document. There should be progress beyond the ICN to continue this process, failing which all this important work would not generate the desired results.
Eduardo HERMANNY (Brasil): La delegación brasileña quiere informar que el Gobierno de Brasil estableció en septiembre pasado un Comité interministerial para coordinar la posición brasileña en la Conferencia Internacional de Nutrición. Este Comité está integrado por representantes de los Ministerios de la Agricultura, Salud y Acción Social y el Instituto Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición.
Nuestra delegación quiere también informar que la respuesta al documento sobre el Estado de la Nutrición en Brasil, solicitada por la FAO, deberá ser concluida a fines de diciembre y enviada a la Organización.
Vishnu BHAGWAN (India): I thank Mr Dutia for his excellent introduction giving an update about the ICN. My delegation recognizes the importance of the International Conference on Nutrition as a means to strengthen the commitment to prevent and alleviate problems of hunger and malnutrition. We are pleased to note the substantial progress in holding this Conference. We appreciate the efforts made by FAO and WHO in this regard.
I am happy to report that in my country the focal point for that purpose is the Ministry of Food and an inter-sectoral Committee comprising the Planning Commission, ministries of rural development, civil supplies and public distribution, urban development, information and broadcasting, health and family welfare, agriculture and cooperation, education, women and child development have been set up. The international organizations such as FAO, WHO, UNICEF, NGOs and university faculties are also associated with the working group.
The country paper is expected to be finally ready by the end of December 1991. I should also like to record my thanks to the Director-General, FAO, for recently sanctioning a TCP project on improving street foods in Calcutta. We are also grateful to the International Development Research Centre, as well as the Canadian Government, for having agreed to give assistance in the sum of $15 000 Canadian in this connection. Thank you for your kind attention.
F.A. Shamin AHMED (Bangladesh): Let me begin by complimenting the Secretariat on producing the document C 91/27 which contains a very clear account of the significant progress which has been made in preparation for the International Conference on Nutrition to be held in Rome in December 1992. I would like to thank Mr Dutia for introducing the paper and updating us on the subject.
We have noted that the preparation for the ICN is progressing along two parallel tracks globally and at national levels. We commend the valuable guidance which has been provided to all these preparatory activities by the FAO/WHO Joint Secretariat set up especially for this purpose and would put on record our appreciation for the work done by the Food Policy and Nutrition Division of FAO, under the guidance and energy of Mr Dutia.
My delegation is of the view that the International Conference on Nutrition is of particular importance to the developing countries. Bangladesh expects to benefit greatly from a participation in the ICN. We appreciate the efforts that are being made by FAO and WHO in securing support of the potential donor countries and other funding sources to the country-level preparatory activities where necessary, and hope that those efforts would receive favourable response from the donors.
We also are happy to note that non-governmental organizations will also be invited to attend the ICN and feel that this will enrich the spectrum of participation in the Conference. Mr Chairman, my delegation is in full agreement with the concluding remarks in the document that the ICN is not seen as an end in itself but rather as a step in the continuing process to strengthen the commitment and action necessary to prevent and alleviate the problems of hunger and malnutrition. The Conference would indeed provide the world community with the opportunity to confront these problems and relate them to the underlying issues of inadequate food, health care and inequitable social and economic development.
Before I conclude, Mr Chairman, my delegation would like to express its best wishes to FAO and WHO for every success in their joint sponsorship of the Conference which, as Mr Dutia said in his introductory remarks, will be the first global meeting on nutrition. As a developing country which attaches great importance to raising the nutritional level of the population, Bangladesh looks forward to benefiting from the global plan of action which will be adopted by the Conference.
António MAGALHAES COELHO (Portugal): La délégation portugaise félicite le Secrétariat pour le document C 91/27 - qui nous donne un bon aperçu sur les préparatifs de la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition. Mon pays a accordé une grande importance à la préparation de cette réunion, car la population portugaise est fortement motivée par les problèmes de l'alimentation et de la nutrition.
Depuis la quatre-vingt-huitième session du Conseil de la FAO, a été constitué au Portugal un groupe coordinateur des travaux préparatoires de sa représentation à la Conférence.
Ce groupe-là est coordonné par le Comité national de la FAO et par la représentation au Portugal de l'OMS, et intègre des représentants des services publics et des activités privées (ONG), communication sociale, des représentants des consommateurs et d'autres activités liées à l'alimentation et la nutrition.
Ce groupe développe son travail avec intensité et a déjà recueilli toute l'information considérée importante et qui se trouvait dispersée dans plusieurs services.
En ce moment, le rapport national se trouve en phase de rédaction, et nous pensons l'envoyer au Secrétariat à Rome dans le délai fixé. Le Portugal a reçu une demande de la FAO pour étudier la possibilité de donner une collaboration technique et matérielle aux pays africains de langue portugaise sur ce sujet.
Les frais que la FAO avait estimés étaient vraiment supérieurs à nos possibilités actuelles. Mais en tenant compte des excellentes relations entre le Portugal et les pays africains de langue officielle portugaise, le Gouvernement portugais a décidé de donner une contribution positive. Dans ce sens, l'Etat Portugais supportera les frais de séjour au Portugal pendant une semaine d'au moins un technicien de chacun des pays concernés. Ce séjour sera destiné à approfondir les "items" des rapports nationaux. Le Portugal supportera aussi le séjour d'un technicien portugais spécialiste dans chaque pays, si l'on considère cette forme d'appui complémentaire.
Le financement de ces activités sera réglé par les "Accords" de coopération bilatérale entre le Portugal et chacun de ces pays. De cette décision, la FAO a été déjà informée.
En ce moment, nous sommes en train de préparer la première réunion à Lisbonne.
Petr ZIZKA (Czechoslovakia): We have studied with great interest the forwarded material, C 91/27. Czechoslovakia is among the countries that have been from the very beginning in favour of calling an International Conference on Nutrition because the Government of Czechoslovakia is looking for means that may lead to an improvement of the unsatisfactory state of nutrition in the country. Statistics of the health service point out an important incidence of diseases caused by poor nutrition and a shortened average age of the population of Czechoslovakia associated with an increased rate of mortality.
For these reasons, Czechoslovakia offered to be coordinator of the regional seminar that is to be held in March 1992 in Bratislava. A similarly positive approach from Czechoslovakia to the forthcoming Conference is the establishment of a national coordination centre at the Federal Ministry of Economy which will coordinate the attendance of Czechoslovakia in the International Conference on Nutrition. At present, the centre is preparing a national report on the situation in Czechoslovakia.
The report of the FAO Secretariat gives a relatively small number for the existing National Committees on preparing for the ICN. This reflects the difficulties several countries have to face in order to secure finances that will cover the costs associated with their participation in the Conference.
We feel that the preparatory Committee of the Conference should give more attention to publicity, using the mass media to inform the wide public that a Conference on nutrition will be held and to point out the importance of an international collaboration in the field of nutrition.
The National Coordination Committee of Czechoslovakia should greatly welcome the preparation of a uniform information translated into the individual congress languages and distributed to the wide public.
Antonio CARPINTERO SAIZ (España): Quiero en primer lugar y siguiendo el ejemplo de todos los delegados que han hablado antes que yo, felicitar tanto al Consejo como al Sr. Dutia, por los documentos que nos han presentado y por el Informe que han hecho de la situación actual de los trabajos en curso.
En España se acogió desde el primer momento con gran interés la iniciativa de FAO y de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, para celebrar esta Conferencia Internacional de Nutrición. Y voy a tratar de exponerles cuál es la situación del documento nacional en este momento. Además de diseñar un Centro de Contacto Nacional que está en relación directa con FAO, se ha elaborado una Secretaria de Organización conjunta integrada por el Ministerio de Agricultura y el Ministerio de Sanidad, que son los que están supervisando la realización de todo el documento nacional.
En mi país, esta Secretaria ha contratado a diversos expertos en los temas que el documento contempla, y está en estos momentos en fase de redacción. Estamos tratando de implicar también a los Organismos no gubernamentales, porque como bien recoge uno de los documentos, forman parte importante de esta Conferencia. Estos Organismos están prestando ya apoyo a las personas que elaboran el documento, y dentro del calendario previsto. Puedo anunciarles que el lunes próximo, hay un acto en Madrid en el que se va a dar a conocer a la opinión pública la situación actual de estos trabajos, y se va a tratar de concienciarles de los problemas que existen. Si conseguimos que toda la población española tome conciencia de los problemas que nosotros tenemos, habrá sido un logro importante.
Creo que éste es uno de los objetivos principales que persigue la Conferencia. Por ello, aunque mi país no va a aumentar los gastos presupuestarios fuera de España, fuera de la elaboración del documento nacional, desde luego vamos a contribuir en la medida de lo posible a que la Conferencia sea un éxito, y estamos seguros de que así será.
Harald HILDEBRAND (Germany) (Original language German): Since the Ninety-ninth Council of the FAO, preparations for the International Nutrition Conference have in fact obviously been proceeding very well. The final decision on the Conference to be held in December 1992 is proof of this. The impression we have got of the progress made in preparation leads us to believe that document C 91/27 reflects quite carefully all the preparations, and my country would like to support it. We would also like to thank Dr Dutia for his presentation of this document.
At present the document can only make reference to general technical and organizational aspects of the Conference, but my delegation believes that the subjects mentioned in paragraph 26 really take on board the problems that the Conference should be dealing with, especially so far as qualitative problems are concerned in matters of nutrition, taking into account the social and economic factors involved, in order to propose measures which will help the poorer populations in developing countries.
In my delegation's opinion the Action Plan that has been proposed is extremely important. It should contain realistic and feasible objectives. This is the first Conference of this nature within the framework of the United Nations system and it is preceded by numerous national and regional meetings of experts. It is to be hoped that FAO and WHO will work together with the respective countries in organizing the preparation of well-condensed documents leading up to the preparatory meeting in August 1992, so that the Conference itself can take place at a solid expert level and therefore fulfil our very high expectations. Timely preparation of national reports would contribute to this objective.
My country will be preparing a document of this nature, referring to the situation of nutrition and nutritional problems in the Federal Republic, by the end of this year. The national focal points in the two responsible ministries have already been appointed, and NGOs will also be involved in national preparation. The measures mentioned in the document for the preparation of the Conference receive our delegation's support, especially the idea of dedicating World Food Day 1992 to the subject of food and nutrition. The experiences that we have had in Germany on World Food Day permit us to be optimistic on the success of this type of campaign, Activities revolving around World Food Day in developed FAO member countries should, in our opinion, be used in order to encourage appropriate national frameworks and organizations so that they are encouraged to undertake actions which would allow for a positive follow-up to be made with respect to the Action Plan that has been proposed.
In this respect, my delegation would like to say that the report on the informal meeting of the international non-governmental organizations, held during the Twenty-sixth FAO Conference on 12 November 1991, document C 91/INF.l, supports this document. May we point out that points 9 and 11 of this document contain specific proposals which my delegation would like to support.
Michael CARROLL (Australia): Australia strongly supports the initiative by FAO and WHO in developing the first International Conference on Nutrition, and we appreciate the quality of the Agenda paper and the excellent update provided by Mr Dutia.
As part of its contribution to ICN, Australia is presently preparing a country paper which takes account of the inter-sectoral aspects of food and nutrition in Australia. The paper includes input from a wide range of government and non-governmental organizations and will be completed in early 1992.
Australia is also developing a national food nutrition policy, over-sighted by a multi-sectoral Committee. As part of the consultation phase of the policy development, a National Conference is planned for March 1992. The aspects being dealt with in the policy process are consistent with the aims and objectives of the ICN, and the National Conference will therefore provide a forum for contributing to the ICN preparations.
Australia is also contributing to regional preparations for the ICN. FAO and WHO have organized a Regional Workshop on Trends in Food and Nutrition in Asia and the Pacific, to be held in Thailand in January 1992. Australia is providing financial support to assist participants from four developing countries in the region, to attend the Regional Workshop in Thailand.
Australia joins other delegates who have asked that the planning for the Conference should provide for a focus on outcomes and follow-up action to capitalize on the significant investment being made in the Conference.
Jean-Paul RIVAUD (France): Dès l'origine, la France a soutenu la proposition du Directeur général d'organiser en coopération avec l'Organisation mondiale de la santé, la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition.
Cette coopération, déjà bien engagée dans le cadre du Comité d'orientation mixte et du Secrétariat conjoint FAO/OMS est l'une des conditions essentielles de la bonne préparation et du succès de la Conférence.
Je ne m'attacherai pas aux finalités de cette vaste entreprise si ce n'est pour rappeler le souci de mon pays de la voir déboucher sur des actions concrètes, articulées autour d'objectifs précis correspondant aux priorités définies par les pays intéressés eux-mêmes, puis examinées et discutées au niveau régional.
Les dispositions prises par la FAO et l'OMS, décrites dans le document C 91/27, et telles qu'elles ont été présentées avec précision par M. Dutia, permettent de penser que les préparatifs de la Conférence sont engagés dans la bonne voie.
Beaucoup reste à faire à tous les niveaux - national, régional, mondial -et il ne nous reste guère plus d'un an avant la Conférence. Mais beaucoup a déjà été fait pour définir le cadre et les méthodes de travail, préciser les objectifs et les grands domaines de préoccupation.
L'essentiel, au stade actuel, est de conserver l'élan qui a été pris, sachant qu'en tout état de cause l'élément le plus important est de susciter de façon permanente et à tous les niveaux une véritable prise en compte des problèmes de la nutrition.
Je voudrais ici donner quelques informations sur les mesures préparatoires qui ont été prises en France en vue de cette conférence.
Depuis la décision prise par la Conférence de la FAO en novembre 1989, des réunions de coordination sont régulièrement organisées à Paris entre les administrations et les spécialistes de la nutrition de nos instituts scientifiques, afin de définir le contenu et les modalités des contributions de la France à la Conférence.
Le Comité interministériel de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation a été désigné pour jouer le rôle de point focal.
L'établissement du rapport national a été confié au Conseil national de l'alimentation, instance créée par les pouvoirs publics en 1985, au sein de laquelle sont représentés les principaux partenaires de la filière agro-alimentaire : ministères chargés de l'agriculture, de la santé, de la consommation, producteurs agricoles, professionnels de la transformation, de la distribution et de la restauration collective, associations de consommateurs, organisations non gouvernementales, personnalités scientifiques qualifiées.
Le Conseil national de l'alimentation a déjà consacré plusieurs séances de travail à la préparation de ce rapport afin de permettre à la France de le présenter dans les délais prévus.
Nous comptons en particulier mettre en relief dans ce rapport notre attachement à une politique nutritionnelle nationale qui ne se traduit pas par un dispositif centralisé, imposé par voie législative, mais qui repose sur le libre choix de l'aliment pour les personnes, la prise en compte des aspects culturels de l'alimentation et le respect d'exigences de qualité rigoureusement définies.
Dans le cadre des travaux préparatoires à la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition, il a été prévu de réserver une place importante à la concertation au niveau régional. La délégation française se félicite de cette orientation tant il est vrai que des pays voisins ont souvent des préoccupations communes et que les problèmes majeurs rencontrés en matière de nutrition varient considérablement d'une région du monde à l'autre, comme l'ont bien montré les conférences régionales de la FAO qui se sont tenues en 1990.
Au niveau européen, la coopération dans le domaine de la nutrition est déjà très intense et la France y participe activement, notamment dans le cadre de la Communauté économique européenne.
Sous l'égide du Bureau régional de l'OMS pour l'Europe une Conférence technique s'est déjà tenue à Budapest en octobre 1990. D'autres réunions régionales sont prévues ou envisagées pour 1992.
Quel que soit le dispositif retenu pour organiser la concertation au niveau régional, il est essentiel que soient assurées - sous les auspices de la FAO et de l'OMS - les conditions nécessaires à une prise en compte complète et équilibrée des problèmes et des politiques de tous les pays de la région.
La France porte un intérêt tout particulier à la coopération régionale engagée en Afrique dans le domaine de la nutrition. L'action à mener peut s'appuyer largement sur les travaux déjà réalisés et les structures déjà mises en place comme l'organisation régionale pour l'alimentation et la nutrition en Afrique et l'organisation de lutte contre les grandes endémies.
La France est disposée à apporter une contribution à la tenue de la Conférence régionale que le Sénégal s'est proposé d'accueillir à Dakar.
L'Office de recherche scientifique et technique en coopération, l'ORSTOM apportera son assistance technique et nous espérons que d'autres donateurs pourront accorder eux aussi un appui à cette conférence africaine pour lui donner toute la dimension qu'en attendent les pays de la région.
Enfin, la France continuera d'apporter son appui au Secrétariat conjoint FAO/OMS par l'intermédiaire du Programme des cadres associés.
Leslie J. BAJA (Philippines): At the outset the Philippines delegation would like to thank the Secretariat for its comprehensive report, and Mr Dutia for his clear introduction of the subject.
The joint sponsorship by FAO and WHO of the ICN once again highlights the importance of working together by specialized agencies in pursuit of the UN's cause - or rather aims - of promoting the economic and social advancement of all peoples. The Philippines fully supports this joint undertaking, and the National Nutrition Council of the Philippines has been identified as the national focal point for this Conference.
The NNC is at present preparing a country paper which will provide an assessment of the country's nutrition problems, an analysis of their causes, and plans and recommendations for future action.
The Philippine delegation wishes to express satisfaction at the progress of the preparations for the ICN, which will provide the world community with an opportunity to look critically at the continuing problems of hunger, malnutrition and diet-related disease and how they can be most effectively addressed. We are pleased in particular about the progress at country and regional level and the involvement of non-governmental organizations in the public information campaign. As we are all aware, these preparations cost money which cannot be defrayed from the regular budgets of FAO and WHO. We therefore support the call for extra-budgetary funds.
In developing the Conference theme, the Philippine delegation agrees with the conclusion of document C 91/27 that: the focus should be not just on the scope and dimension of hunger and malnutrition but also, and more importantly, on the creation of awareness of the need to address the related and underlying issues of inadequate food, health and inadequate social and economic development.
Takakata OKAMOTO (Japan): I would like to express our thanks to Mr Dutia for his introduction to document C 91/27. The Japanese Government considers food security as a top priority in agricultural issues and appreciates the outstanding effort by FAO to ensure food security.
I am happy to inform you that my Government has designated it a focal point for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and we have started to prepare country papers. We are pleased to be participating at this Conference because of our experience of improved nutrition following the Second World War. We hope that ICN will be a trigger for developing concrete strategies for systems to ensure adequate nutrition for all people in the world.
D.P.D. VAN RAPPARD (Netherlands): My delegation thanks the Secretariat for document C 91/27 and Mr Dutia for his concise introduction on development in the preparation process for the ICN. On previous occasions the Netherlands delegation has expressed reservations regarding the organization of this Conference, at that time mainly because the delegation was not sure about the possible contribution of such a Conference to the mitigation of nutrition problems. In our opinion, the possible relatively modest outcome of this Conference in contributing to the solution of the nutrition problem would not warrant the high cost of the organization of such an event. On the other hand, the Netherlands delegation was also of the opinion that, when such a Conference is to be held, priority should be given to tackling the problems of countries with malnutrition and food shortages. The delegation did not favour dealing at one and the same Conference with the aspects of food surpluses in developed countries and problems of structural food problems in a considerable number of developing countries as well. These were the reasons why the Netherlands eventually decided not to participate in the financing of the Conference.
Since preparation for the Conference has started, we have followed it very carefully. During the last Council meeting and the COAG earlier this year both we and a number of other delegations expressed concern about the timing of the preparation process. From the document, which is a summary of the ICN country level activities in anglophone Africa, we learned that progress is being made, but much has still to be done at various levels to make the Conference a worthwhile achievement, which is something we all
want. In that regard, once again the Netherlands delegation draws to the attention of the ICN Organization Secretariat the need to take care that those who have responsibility for various aspects of the food sector will be committed to the Conference. This will be necessary to achieve a balanced approach to food supply and health aspects in the Conference.
Finally, it has been said at various previous meetings, and Mr Dutia has stressed it in his introduction, that NGOs can play a valuable role in the preparation process of the Conference and there is a definite interest in participating in it. In the days before the Conference I was approached by one of our NGOs regarding this matter and we will be most happy to investigate this with you further. My delegation supports the Canadian proposal for an international NGO working group.
P. Natigor SIAGIAN (Indonesia): My delegation appreciates the Secretariat's efforts in preparing this comprehensive document, C 91/27. We would also like to thank the Secretariat and Mr Dutia for the clear and substantive introductory remarks. We welcome the initiative of the Secretariat in drawing the attention of Member Nations to the agricultural potential for improving nutrition. We are of the view that countries should have the commitment and the political will to make available the resources necessary to improve the situation. Improvements in nutrition should receive high priority along with other health service developments, such as safe water supply, disease control, family planning, environmental health and sanitation and particular assistance should be given to low income communities in rural and urban areas. This improvement would require greater provision of medicines and medical equipment as well as the development of health insurance schemes for community self-financing of health services. My delegation is of the view that the community health centres should be the primary vehicle for delivery, especially for mothers and young children. Our experience in Indonesia has shown that organized activities in the community centres are also important fora for the extension of cultural services, to assist in the improvement of family nutrition and increasing household income and the campaign on home gardening. According to the study on health in rural areas in Java Island, Indonesia home gardens provide more than 20 percent of household income and more than 40 percent of a household's calorie requirement. Poor households tend to sell a higher proportion of their products in the local markets and these sales may account for the single largest source of income for such households. Therefore efforts should be made to strengthen these activities at community centre level because experience has shown us that this is a promising area and that it is- a cost-effective way of guiding people's activities. We hope that this can be considered as an input for the forthcoming ICN meetings. In this connection, my delegation would like to support the view that ICN should place particular emphasis on malnutrition in relation to poverty and other manifestations of under-development.
In regard to the preparation for the ICN, we welcome the scope and content of ICN, we welcome the scope and content of ICN as stated in paragraphs 24 and 27 of this document. We wish to reiterate the views of the Twenty-fifth Conference that the ICN should have a regional focus in devising strategies and proposals. We wish to draw attention also to the recommendation of the Asia-Pacific FAO Regional Conference for improving household food security, which stressed the need to increase women's participation in training and income-generating activities and establishing method to promote greater productivity and higher incomes for women.
In Indonesia preparation for national country papers which cover inter-sectoral aspects is currently being undertaken and good progress is being made. All preparations, including the holding of a national seminar in December 1991, have been under the coordination of a National Preparatory Committee for ICN. The Indonesian focal point consists of experts and high-ranking government officials in nutrition-related institutions. We are looking forward to receiving the background document "The Assessment and Analysis of Trends and Current Problems in Nutrition", as this will be the basis for the preparation of our national seminars.
We warmly welcome the good intention of FAO to assist developing countries to enable their experts to participate fully and actively in this important global Conference. All possible efforts to ensure the attendance of experts from the developing countries would also be an important step towards a successful Conference. We note Mr Dutia's introductory remarks that the ICN itself is not.the end but just the beginning of world cooperative efforts to combat malnutrition by working together in all related developmental sectors.
As a result of our request to the international agencies dealing with nutrition for assistance in projects and activities in Indonesia, my delegation is pleased to inform this Commission that the Indonesian National Preparation Committee has received close cooperation and assistance from WHO and UNICEF through its representative offices in Jakarta. USAID has also communicated a positive response in the way of possible assistance in the preparation of the national papers and for the holding of a national seminar in December 1991. Indonesia therefore wishes to express its thanks to them. We however still look forward to the possible support of the FAO and other donors in making it possible for our experts to attend both the regional and global ICN meetings. In this regard, we hope that extra-budgetary funds can be provided for FAO to make it possible to respond to this request by the developing countries. We wish all the best to FAO and WHO. The developing countries, including my own, have great confidence in the capability of FAO and WHO to make this important ICN Conference a very successful one.
Ugo COLOMBO-SACCO (Italy): The Italian delegation wishes to compliment the Secretariat for its clear and up-to-date report on the significant work being done in preparation for the International Conference on Nutrition.
We are pleased to have this opportunity to reiterate the main concepts of our speech at the last Council session. Very briefly, the Italian delegation confirms its strong support for FAO and WHO for the International Conference on Nutrition. Italy will certainly offer its help on various aspects of the preparatory process. Details concerning the extent of the financial contributions are being finalized and will be made known as soon as possible.
J. Dawson AHALT (United States of America): I would like to do two main things. First, I would like to give an overview to the Members of the Commission and the Secretariat of how the United States is organizing its participation in the Conference and, secondly, I would like to share some of our views on the work that has already been undertaken by the FAO/WHO Secretariat. The overall responsibility in the United States for preparing for the Conference lies with the Department of Agriculture and with the
US Department of Health and Human Services under the general direction of the Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services at the Department of Agriculture. Preparations of these papers and case studies for the Conference are well under way. Government agencies have been asked to draft portions of the US country paper, with input from state, NGOs, industry and other private sector groups. The paper will focus primarily on domestic programmes but it will also deal with United States international activities, with the US Agency for International Development participating in that portion of the paper.
The United States country paper will be given broad review by non-government organizations, the academic community and the food industry, as well as the general public. We are following the basic format suggested by the FAO/WHO Secretariat. We plan to share this paper with our colleagues from the north, Canada, and to consult with them on it.
The US Agency for International Development has been in contact with a number of developing country governments - and we have just heard from one a moment ago - about ways in which the United States could assist them in Conference preparations. In addition, USAID is contributing to one of these papers entitled "Promoting Healthy Diets and Lifestyles".
The document before us here refers to the need to pay for various regional and sub-regional preparatory meetings. In the event that obtaining the extra funds proves difficult, we would suggest that one way to reduce costs for FAO members would be to consider re-scheduling the meetings so that they would be held in conjunction with the five FAO Regional Conferences next year. We believe that joint meetings would reduce duplicative discussion and achieve significant cost savings. We note that nutrition was an Agenda Item at each of the Regional Conferences in 1990 and that it is also scheduled as an Agenda Item again for the coming year.
The United States is actively soliciting specific proposals for future action, both domestically and internationally. While we feel that it is useful for the ICN to review assessments of nutritional problems and to set targets to overcome them, the Conference will only be a major success if nations agree on specific and concrete measures that they can undertake together in areas such as food safety, quality and labelling, the eradication of micro-nutrient deficiency diseases, and nutrition monitoring and education.
We are pleased to see the FAO/WHO Secretariat's efforts to involve other UN agencies and NGOs in preparations for the Conference. We encourage the Secretariat to take advantage of the expertise which exists in these agencies. We trust that they will make every effort to involve representatives of the food industry. We urge the Conference to recognize fully the importance of the private sector and actively to solicit its cooperation and involvement. Unfortunately, the document mentions the private sector only twice: firstly in a paragraph on limiting interventions at the Conference and, secondly, as a source of financial contribution.
Paragraph 35 suggests "selectivity in the representation of different classes of interest (food, agriculture, health, consumers, industry, etc.) as regards interventions possibly based on their contributions at the country and regional level".
We have some problems with this suggested approach, since North America may not have a formal regional meeting, a fact that would disadvantage our NGO and industry representation. We trust that an alternative mechanism can be found to contain discussion, but to keep it open and balanced among all interested groups.
The United States appreciates all the work that FAO and WHO have already done in preparing for the Conference. US agencies are actively assisting the Secretariat with technical preparations and we shall continue to offer our support. We have a great opportunity in the International Conference and the United States plans to do its part to make the Conference a success.
Finally, with respect to the issue made by the delegate of Haiti, we regret the introduction of a political issue in this technical Conference. The action mentioned is a collective action under the aegis of the OAS community.
Ms Charlotte SEYMOUR-SMITH (United Kingdom): The United Kingdom delegation thanks the Secretariat of FAO for the preparation of this document which reports on the progress in preparing for the ICN. We also thank Mr Dutia for introducing this Agenda Item to the present meeting.
The United Kingdom would have preferred to see the ICN postponed beyond its present scheduled date of December 1992, in order to allow for thorough country and regional preparation. However, it is now clear that postponement is no longer an issue, and we would therefore like to focus our comments on how FAO should follow through the ICN initiative after the Conference event itself.
In this respect we wish to stress two points: the first is that the problems of hunger and malnutrition must be addressed within the context of overall social and economic development. The major challenges lie in the areas of problem analysis, prioritization, policy analysis and management, within the context of the specific situations of individual countries.
The second point we wish to emphasize is that the role of the UN Agencies within the ICN process is to identify - on a country-by-country basis - the needs for human and institutional resources, and to develop a decentralized strategy to assist in strengthening these resources.
With regard to the continuation of the ICN initiative after December 1992, we would like to ask the Secretariat to inform the Conference what plans FAO and WHO have for using the country papers and focal points as a basis for the assessment of management capacity and human resources. Does the Secretariat have any information to share with us on who will take responsibility for this continuing process of country assessment? In particular, are there any plans for continuing coordination between FAO and WHO in this regard? The outcome of the ICN process and the country assessments will also need to be reflected in the prioritization of resources within the two Agencies, if the full benefits are to be gained from the considerable investment of time, effort and resources which are being devoted to this important Conference.
Finally, I am pleased to inform this Conference that, in response to the appeal by FAO for additional resources to assist the fullest possible developing country participation in the ICN preparatory process, the United Kingdom will be making a contribution towards this process.
Manuel VARA OCHOA (Perú): Agradecemos a la Secretaria por el documento presentado y la presentación del tema a cargo del Sr. Dutia. Valoramos los esfuerzos de la FAO y la Organización Mundial de la Salud en la realización de la próxima Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición a realizarse en diciembre de 1992 y sobre la cual tenemos la plena seguridad de que se va a desarrollar con el mayor de los éxitos.
En el caso del Perú, nuestros organismos públicos, institutos de investigación y privados, bajo la coordinación del Ministerio de Salud Pública, están trabajando intensamente en la elaboración del Informe Nacional que resuma la situación nutricional de nuestro pais y sus posibles soluciones.
Estimamos que en este periodo de rápida transformación de las estructuras económicas y políticas la realización de la Conferencia va a constituir un hecho trascendental en la lucha por resolver los problemas de malnutrición, tanto en los paises desarrollados como en los países en vías de desarrollo, dentro del contexto de que existe malnutrición por deficiencia y existe malnutrición por exceso.
Apoyamos los temas materia de la Conferencia consignados en el párrafo 26 del informe y hacemos llegar nuestra inquietud en relación con el capítulo de incorporación de objetivos de nutrición en las políticas y programas de desarrollo, a fin de que se pueda estudiar y recomendar la posibilidad del dictado como curso obligatorio del curso general de nutrición humana dentro del curriculum de las facultades de las universidades agrarias.
Finalmente, hacemos un llamado a fin de lograr la mayor asistencia de los donantes a fin de contribuir con el éxito de la Conferencia como una de las medidas más concretas de la FAO de prevenir y paliar los problemas del hambre, garantizando la asistencia de todos los miembros de la comunidad internacional a esta importante Conferencia.
Mohammed IBOUMRATEN (Maroc) (Langue originale arabe) : Je voudrais avant tout, au nom de la délégation Marocaine, féliciter le Secrétariat pour la qualité des documents concernant ce point de l'ordre de jour, et remercier M. Dutia pour sa présentation exhaustive. La délégation Marocaine rend hommage aux efforts déployés par la FAO pour la préparation de la CIN.
Je voudrais tout d'abord vous tenir au courant des mesures prises par le Maroc en prévision de cette Conférence.
M. le Président, Le Gouvernement marocain a accordé à cette conférence toute l'attention qu'elle mérite. Il s'est empressé de créer un Comité groupant tous les ministères et institutions nationales s'intéressant à la nutrition pour préparer le rapport national, et en prévision de cette Conférence, ce Comité s'est réuni à plusieurs reprises pour prendre les mesures nécessaires pour assurer la participation effective du Maroc à la CIN.
Avant de terminer, je voudrais vous informer que le rapport national sera mis au point avant la fin de cette année. Nous espérons que la CIN aboutira à des recommandations répondant aux aspirations de la Communauté internationale et susceptibles de contribuer à l'amélioration de la situation nutritionnelle mondiale et surtout dans les pays en voie de développement.
Zhong-Jung ZHANG (China) (Original language Chinese): I should like to thank the Secretariat for preparing document C 91/27 and also Mr Dutia for his clear introduction.
The Chinese delegation appreciates the work done by FAO and WHO in preparing the International Conference on Nutrition. Before this Conference we have already mentioned at the Hundredth Session of the FAO Council that China is prepared to attend the International Conference on Nutrition. So I will not go into detail here. China will actively take part in the International Conference on Nutrition to be held in December next year.
I should now like to make the following remarks in terms of contents and themes of the International Conference on Nutrition. In general, the Chinese delegation agrees with the theme contained in paragraph 26 of document C 91/27.
Therefore, I should like to stress the importance of incorporating the nutrition objectives into the development plans and policies.
At the country level nutrition issues involve many sectors such as agriculture, public health, commerce and education. Therefore it will be of great significance to incorporate the nutrition objectives into the overall social and economic development strategies and plans. Especially when formulating the agricultural development strategies, much attention should be given to improving the people's nutrition level. From the global level, the issue of nutrition should be seen in connection with the issue of unbalanced economic development, and the whole international community should assist and support the economic development of developing countries through its efforts to improve human nutrition.
Apart from that, I should also like to stress the importance of education in changing people's diet and improving people's nutrition.
We fully support the selection of "Food Nutrition" as the theme for the 1992 World Food Day. The proposed activities will help to raise public awareness on nutrition issues.
Finally, I want to stress further the point in paragraph 47 of document C 91/27 that the ICN is not seen as an end in itself. It is our hope that ICN will work out action-oriented strategies and that its follow-up activities will be widely supported by the international community.
Pedro Agostinho KANGA (Angola): En premier lieu, nous tenons à féliciter M. Dutia de la présentation complète et claire du document C 91/27. Nous nous félicitons aussi de l'heureuse initiative de la FAO/OMS pour la réalisation de la Conférence sur la nutrition et la collaboration de plus en plus étroite entre les deux organisations
L'organisation de cette conférence dans mon pays est considérée d'une grande importance. A cet effet, il a été créé une commission interministérielle réunissant des spécialistes de différents secteurs sociaux et économiques du pays et des experts des agences spécialisées des Nations Unies et de certaines ONG travaillant en Angola sous la coordination du Ministère de l'agriculture et du développement rural, et certaines études de cas sont déjà en cours.
A ce stade, nous ne pouvons que nous féliciter de toutes les initiatives qui ont été prises en ce qui concerne les préparatifs de la première Conférence internationale sur la nutrition et spécialement des pays qui se sont manifestés d'une façon volontaire à prêter une assistance technique et financière aux plans préparatoires, afin de permettre une participation massive et active des pays en développement.
Comme il est bien stipulé dans ce document, la FAO et l'OMS connaissent de graves difficultés financières. A cet égard, l'allocation des ressources extrabudgétaires à la préparation aux niveaux national et régional, ainsi qu'à la participation de délégués provenant des pays en développement aux différentes activités prévues, est indispensable.
Avant de terminer, M. le Président, nous ne pouvons passer sous silence le fait de féliciter l'Italie pour sa réaction très positive d'aider les pays en développement.
Nous nous félicitons de la disponibilité du Portugal de venir en aide aux pays d'Afrique d'expression portugaise, ainsi que la France pour la Conférence régionale qui aura lieu au Sénégal, et espérons que d'autres pays donateurs suivront l'exemple si louable de ces pays.
Jorge Alberto DE OLIVEIRA (Guinée-Bissau): Ma délégation voudrait tout d'abord remercier M. Dutia pour, la présentation du document et pour les explications données à ce propos. Mon pays attache une très grande attention à la préparation de la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition. A cet effet, nous avons déjà nommé notre point de convergence et créé le Comité national constitué par des éléments des ministères de l'agriculture, de la santé et du Plan. Le Comité national est en train de préparer une série de manifestations qui commencera par l'organisation d'un séminaire du 9 au 13 décembre cette année. Le document national est aussi en préparation.
Mais, pour aboutir à une bonne préparation et participation dans toutes les réunions et rencontres prévues pour la Conférence, notre pays a besoin d'une aide spéciale. A cet égard, nous profitons de cette occasion pour sensibiliser la FAO et les pays ici présents à une haute participation à la Conférence et aux activités programmées à ce propos. Nous en profitons pour remercier le Gouvernement portugais pour sa disposition par rapport aux pays africains d'expression officielle portugaise, ainsi que la France pour sa participation à l'organisation de la Conférence préparatoire à Dakar.
Ms Astrid BERGQUIST (Sweden): Allow me to add my voice to those who have commended Dr Dutia and his staff on all the preparations for the Conference. Like other speakers before me, we have had some concerns about the short time available for the preparations for the Conference. We would have liked to see it postponed until 1993, although we also know from
previous experience that if there is a strong commitment on the part of both Secretariats involved, Member Nations and NGOs there is good possibility of making the Conference a success even if the time for preparation is short. I think the WCARRD Conference in 1979 is a case in point when it comes to the preparation process.
Having listened to all the statements that have been given on the preparations going on in various countries, my delegation feels confident that this Conference on nutrition has a good chance of being a success.
For our part, our preparations are well under way. We have a National Committee involving some different Ministries and Government agencies, and we hope to be able to finalize our own national report before the end of this year. In addition to this, we are also preparing some voluntary papers for presentation either at the regional meeting or at the Conference itself dealing with specific nutritional problems of immigrant groups and refugees.
We are confident that this Conference will be of significance to all members in our Organization dealing with nutritional problems - and I stress all countries, be they developed, developing or in transition, since our world is becoming more inter-dependent, and many of the same nutritional problems will be found in various countries.
Finally, I should like to support what my Belgian colleague said in his plea for all members to participate in the Conference in order to make it truly successful.
Eduardo HERMANNY (Brasil): Mi delegación quería informar también porque es importante, que el punto de contacto en Brasil para la Conferenia es la División de Organismos Internacionales especializados del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Brasil; y que nuestro Gobierno, queremos informar también, realizará un Seminario con fecha a ser confirmada sobre los temas que serán examinados en la Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición.
B.P. DUTIA (Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department): I should like to thank most sincerely all the member countries who have participated in the debate on this item for the strong support that they have reiterated to the International Conference on Nutrition. We have also been very much encouraged by the information that the delegates have provided on the preparatory activities that are under way in their countries. In fact, the information that has been provided by them today reconfirms their active interest in making the ICN a success. It already shows how much is being done in each country, and it also reconfirms the country commitments to make the Conference a success. We in the Secretariat are very encouraged by this.
I should like to express our sincere thanks also to the donor countries that have offered concrete support in terms of helping developing countries in country level preparations, as well as in the holding of the regional and sub-regional meetings.
We are also encouraged that a number of them have expressed readiness to do even more. In this context I should like to respond to the request made by the delegate of Canada on having more information on countries that still need assistance. I may say that we shall be very happy to provide such information to him and also to any other donor country that wishes to have this information.
We hope that the momentum that has already been generated will gather speed, and that more support will be forthcoming in the months ahead. In fact, this is crucial if we want to achieve the objective of making ICN a first Intergovernmental Conference on Nutrition which has been truly built from the bottom up. This is a unique opportunity and I hope that we shall seize it and will not allow it to slip through our fingers.
Some Member Nations have still expressed some concern about the timing. I should like to comment that although considerable progress has already been made, both at the country level as well as by the FAO/WHO Joint Secretariat in preparing for the Conference, we are very conscious that a lot more needs to be done in the few months that are ahead of us.
We are conscious that we will have to work intensively until the Conference day but I can assure you that we shall do our best to prepare a sound basis for the International Conference on Nutrition so as to provide a worthwhile, comprehensive and achievable programme of work which can be followed up by all in the interests of the people who need this.
I would now like to turn to some of the questions which have been raised and some remarks that have been made which require clarification on the part of the Secretariat. Firstly, Mr Chairman, I would like to refer to the observations made by the distinguished delegate of Denmark in explaining why his country still finds it difficult to support the ICN activities outside of Denmark. I believe, Mr Chairman, that there is a need for some clarification on the objectives of the Conference. The distinguished delegate of Denmark referred to the objective of the Conference as developing or increasing the awareness of the nutrition problem. Indeed, that is one of them but that is not the only one. Increasing the awareness of the Conference is only the first step. It is an essential step but it is only the first step.
The other objectives of the Conference include what he was pleading for, namely, adoption of the strategy and proposals for action to reach agreed nutrition and dietary goals. In fact, one of the important outputs of the International Conference on Nutrition is going to be a plan of action in which Member Nations will agree at a political level not only on the problems but also on what can be done, and also agree on the mobilization of resources, both technical and financial, in order to implement that plan of action. Mr Chairman, through you, I would appeal to the distinguished delegate of Denmark that he might take the opportunity of conveying this to the concerned authorities in his country in order that due attention could be given also to the other objectives of this Conference.
I may also add, that the Secretary-General of the International Conference on Nutrition, Professor Ramalingaswami, is proposing to visit the Nordic countries, including Denmark and some other countries, in December, and that will be a good opportunity to have some further exchange of views on this important matter. I sincerely hope, as a result of this, it will be
possible for Denmark, which is a country which has taken interest in this problem of nutrition over a long period, as he himself pointed out, to support this International Conference on Nutrition.
I would now like to refer to the question raised by the distinguished delegate of Ethiopia who wanted to know more about the success of our efforts in enlisting support for the country-level activities. I am pleased to inform him and also other members of the Commission that FAO and WHO have helped 29 countries in undertaking national preparatory activities. In addition, about 30 countries are already receiving support from 10 bilateral donors and other UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNDP at this stage. More countries we hope will receive assistance within the next month especially regarding their participation in the regional and sub-regional meetings.
The distinguished delegate of Canada also wanted to know as to what sort of contributions have been received from other UN agencies. I am informed that UNICEF is preparing one of the main theme papers on the carrying capacity and this will be contributing to the preparation of the plan of action in the end.
IFAD has expressed interest in the subject of household food security and poverty alleviation through rural agricultural development. From UNHCR we have been promised inputs on the refugee problems; the UN University will provide information on countries where UN University studies on nutrition have been carried out. WFP has offered inputs on food aid and IAEA has shown interest in the micro-nutrients, ways to measure them, and food irradiation in food quality and safety. All these will be worked into the main theme papers which are being prepared, which I mentioned will be ultimately providing inputs for the preparation of the draft plan of action.
The distinguished delegate of Canada also enquired as to how the results of the ICN will be or can be incorporated into FAO's and other agencies' programme of work as well as in the other bilateral agencies. Mr Chairman, it is very difficult to be precise in giving an answer to this question because we have to wait to see what kind of programme or plan of action will emerge at the end of the Conference itself, but we do anticipate that the Conference will make important recommendations which will affect a number of activities which are at present undertaken by FAO through its Nutrition Division like, for example, in the very important area of food quality and safety; the work that is done through FAO and WHO Codex Alimentarius, we do expect the Conference to make recommendations which will strengthen this work.
We also expect that important recommend¿ations could emerge for the alleviation of micro-nutrient deficiencies, on nutrition education, as well as nutrition evaluation assessment and policies in addition to nutrition monitoring. We believe that similar recommendations on the ICN could be of direct relevance to the programme of work, also of some other agencies, particularly WHO and also UNICEF, and I believe that the output of the ICN will have an important role assigned also to the ACC/SCN in terms of coordination of the UN agency-wide work. We also hope that as a result of the ICN plan of action it will be possible to establish greater collaboration and to enlist more support: to the implementation of that plan of action from the bilateral agencies as well. These are preliminary talks because much will depend on what exactly is the outcome of the Conference.
The distinguished delegate of Czechoslovakia referred to the need for public information on the International Conference on Nutrition. We are conscious of this and I would say that we are preparing a leaflet and a booklet presenting the Conference which will be translated in all languages and made available early in 1992. In fact, we hope that the regional workshops, regional and sub-regional meetings, that are planned in the early part of 1992 will be a good occasion for launching this publicity campaign.
The distinguished delegate of Germany emphasized the need for ICN to be based on strong scientific preparation. We entirely agree with him. In fact, the Country Papers that are prepared now, and the global theme papers and case studies which FAO, WHO and also UNICEF are undertaking will provide up-to-date scientific information which will help in the finalization of the assessment paper as well as help to prepare the proposals for the draft plan of action which will be presented to the ICN.
In addition, we have established an Advisory Group of experts in which eminent scientists and nutritionists are represented and they are advising us on the subject matters which need to be addressed by the Conference.
We are also encouraged and very happy regarding the comments made by the distinguished delegates concerning the involvement of the NGOs in the ICN. We are happy that the proposals and the strategy that has been put forward and that you have considered have found general endorsement, and this will then encourage us to proceed further in that direction.
We have also taken note of the support for an informal working group, an FAO/WHO/INGO informal group, to be established to help us in involving the NGOs in the preparation processes of the ICN.
We have also noted the concern expressed by the distinguished delegate of the Netherlands about a balanced approach between health and agricultural concerns, and the Programme of Work that would emanate from the Conference should have that balance in it. We are conscious of that, and we hope that it will be reflected also in the countries' delegations which will participate in the Regional and Sub-Regional Workshops. Here there is a problem in that if more than one ministry is to be represented in the Regional and Sub-Regional Workshops, there is a need for more resources. I think this is one aspect which the donor countries may wish to consider in providing their support to the Regional and Sub-Regional Workshops, particularly the participation of developing country delegations.
A number of distinguished delegates have also commented on the importance of the follow-up to the Conference. We fully agree with that. As we have already stated, and as many delegates here have reiterated, the ICN is not an end in itself; it is a process, and a more important part of that process will begin after the Conference is over, when the Plan of Action, which has been endorsed by the Member Governments at the policy level, will have to be translated into actual action in the countries themselves.
We think that the Plan of Action which will be adopted by the ICN will provide a very useful and a very suitable framework for initiating the country-level activities. As we see it, the country papers that are now being prepared will already contain some ideas about the actions which need to be taken in each country, taking into account the specific conditions that prevail. Now these actions, which have been identified by the
countries themselves, will need to be revisited in the light of the outcome of the ICN in terms of the Plan of Action. This will have to be done through the inter-ministerial Coordination Committees which have already been established by a large number of countries for preparing their country-level activities, and therefore there is a good basis for anticipating that an inter-sectoral approach will be, and will continue to be, adopted by the countries in order to implement the Plan of Action at the country-level.
Now of course in this it is important that the countries are supported by the bilateral agencies and also that there is an active involvement of the NGOs in the implementation of such programmes.
I would now like to comment on some of the observations made by the distinguished delegate of the United States concerning the involvement of the private sector.
Here I would like to mention that we have encouraged the private sector to submit materials for some of the team papers, and two industry-related international NGOs have already submitted detailed documents for consideration within the team papers and the overall assessment paper and the draft Plan of Action, which we are preparing; and we value this.
The distinguished delegate of the United States also made a suggestion to hold regional and sub-regional meetings together with the FAO Regional Conferences. We have taken note of this suggestion. It is an interesting suggestion, but we see some logistic difficulties in following this up because our intention is to hold the Regional and Sub-Regional meetings in the first quarter of 1992, in order that the outputs of these Regional and Sub-Regional Workshops will be available for the finalization of the assessment paper and the Plan of Action, and both these papers have to be finalized at the latest by the middle of 1992. Now this is one reason why we find that it is necessary to hold these meetings on their own. But we have taken note of this suggestion which you have made.
The distinguished delegate of the United Kingdom asked a question about the follow-up to the country assessment of papers. I believe I answered this question in saying that the follow-up of the ICN in terms of the implementation of the Plan of Action in respect of the problems identified at the country level will have to be done by the countries themselves through the inter-ministerial Coordination Committees that have been established. Of course, there is another objective of the ICN, and that is to monitor year-to-year changes in nutritional status. In order to achieve this objective, we would also require consultative efforts at the country level as well as efforts by the international organizations like FAO, WHO, UNICEF and others.
We hope that the ICN will be able to identify certain assessment techniques which are simple and inexpensive to carry out and which can be quickly analysed to direct attention to problem areas at the local, national and global levels; and in this again, the National Committees will need to play a very important role.
I believe I have replied to the questions that have been raised by the distinguished delegates. Before closing, I would like once again to express thanks for the strong support and interest which the distinguished delegates have shown in the International Conference on Nutrition.
Mr Chairman, if there are any questions which I have left out in my replies, I would certainly be happy to reply to them again.
CHAIRMAN: I thank Mr Dutia most sincerely for the detailed answers he has given. Are there any further comments?
There being none I think I can try to summarize a little bit.
We have listened to 29 delegations during this debate which gives a clear reaction to what Mr Dutia said about the great interest in the Conference.
I have jotted down a few points for the Drafting Committee. One main point has been the detailed information given both by the Secretariat and by delegations on the progress in their preparations for the Conference: that applies both to the preparation of national papers and to the establishment of National Committees. That is two main points.
My second point is that a number of delegations had hoped that the Conference would have been in 1993 instead of at the end of 1992. I noted that, in replying, Mr Dutia said that FAO is very conscious of the need for more work within a shorter period of time. I think it is important that everybody helps in doing as much as possible in preparing for the Conference.
My third point is that one of the preparations for the Conference could be that World Food Day in 1992 would have as a theme 'Food and Nutrition'. I think that is a very good idea and I think it should be noted in the report.
My fourth point is the involvement of NGOs, which again I think is a very important point, which has been mentioned several times over, and I know that FAO is well aware of the need for that.
My next point evolves around the support for the involvement in developing countries by the Conference. We have noted a number of developed countries indicating their willingness to support this and I think this should again be stressed.
My last point - and that of course is the difficult thing, you cannot say too much about it, Mr Dutia, right now - is the kind of follow-up to the Conference. The Conference may in itself be interesting but it will be much more interesting what happens afterwards. What you are trying to establish is a Plan of Action which the Conference should adopt, but there will be quite a bit of follow-up, and therefore also for FAO and all of us, the problem afterwards of resources. I think this is my last point.
The meeting rose at 17.45 hours.
La séance est levée à 17 h 45.
Se levanta la sesión a las 17.45 horas.
