المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

NUTRITION WORK PROGRAM

Comments on draft January 2017

Diana Lee-Smith, Mazingira Institute, Nairobi

Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this important document. Additions are suggested to the Action Areas as follows:

1. SUSTAINABLE RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS FOR HEALTHY DIETS

In para 19, the definition of the food system should encompass production, processing, storage, transport, marketing, retailing, consumption, waste management and soil regeneration, to form a continuous system loop

2. ALIGNED HEALTH SYSTEMS PROVIDING UNIVERSAL COVERAGE OF NUTRITION ACTIONS

This action area should include practical measures on improving dietary diversity which is shown to be linked to obesity from overconsumption of fewer food groups specifically starches and sugars and lack of access to affordable fresh fruit and vegetables as well as other food groups.

These measures overlap with Action Area 1 on food systems, as well as Action Areas 3, 4 and 5.

These measures are: access to fresh foods through own production in rural and urban areas, plus support to small scale farming and ensuring affordable distribution  through food networks in urban and peri-urban areas as well as rural to urban linkages.

3. SOCIAL PROTECTION AND NUTRITION EDUCATION

This links directly also to the dietary diversity measures proposed.

4. TRADE AND INVESTMENT FOR IMPROVED NUTRITION

The human right to adequate food links to the rights of small farmers to produce for their own subsistence as well as to trade locally. This is also linked to dietary diversity.  In fact the right to dietary diversity and measures to achieve it should be included in the right to food through a new general comment by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

5. SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR NUTRITION AT ALL AGES

Add a note on linking the improvement of sanitation and water supply to waste management and linking that to the safe recycling of solid and liquid wastes to soil improvement for better food production and thus improved dietary diversity in food systems.