National nutrition officer at FAO Afghanistan
First of all I would like to congratulate the team for compiling such comprehensive document.
Al though all parts of the documents are interconnected and support one another, I am more interested in food system part. In third world countries like Afghanistan subsistant agriculture makes the backbone of economy of the communities, particularly at rural terians. Thus food system plays key role in improving household nutrition.
In general food system part is developed well, however it needs more improvement in terms of better organizing and classifying the relavent information and steps in food system and suply chain. Clear recomedation is required for each step. In additiont to that, capacity development as a key part of improving nutrition sensitive food system is missing in the document.
Balance between political commetment and enhancing local cpacity to support societies help themselves is crucial. It will work smoothly when there is political will and it is supported by regional and national capabilities to enhance local and community level capacity for better nutrition outcome.
Support for technichal guidlines and developement of local technical guidelines are needed to be mentioned as well.
Nutrition education as key step in food system to make food system nutrition freindly is weak in the section. Although there is a separate section of Nutrition Education, which is very much appart from food system and suply chain. However, the real connection of nutrition education to food system and esence of integrated nutrition education in food system is poor that could be improved.
Quite relevent to food system, food safty is not well connected to food system in the document to reflect requirement of food safty in the relvent steps of food system. Food safty part is over occupied by AMR with long list of recomendations. At least a balance, to indicate same importance of food safty in food system is vital.
Akbar Shahristani
Г-н Akbar Shahristani
Dear FNS moderator,
I share a lesson learnt from FNS policy development process in Afghanistan. Lesson learnt from my country food and nutrition security policy development process and implementation indicate that inclusive consensus and collaboration of main stake holders on key FNS issues, good ownership, political support and feasible implementation policies are key issues. Over one third of population of this country is food insecure and there is dire need of FNS policy document. National priority program 2 (food for life) that is part of 22 NPP in the country is developed and well owned by government and currently implemented in the country. On the other hand, non-government entities started to produce policy documents that resulted in development of two documents on nutrition and food security, one document with more focus on nutrition and another document having more focus on food security objectives while the two documents overlap each other on sharing aspects of food security and nutrition. However, the process of development of policies somehow moved in isolation from each in real term and involvement of relevant government and CSO materialized not as being the owner the document but for the sake of agreeing to the process. Now the two documents are still not being seriously considered to be implemented by government due to disagreements on one hand and overlaps of strategic objectives on the other hand and thus decision making is challenged and the document process outcome is not clear yet. In summary the process was prescript rather than based on needs and demand of national government.
Best Regards
Akbar Shahristani