Closing Workshop for the UN Joint Programme on Nutrition and Food Security
Ha Noi, Viet Nam - The closing workshop for the United Nations Joint Programme on Integrated Nutrition and Food Security to end malnutrition and stunting for children and vulnerable groups in Viet Nam was held today in Ha Noi by Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in cooperation with the UN agencies.
The joint programme, launched in 2015 and funded by the Government of Spain through the (Sustainable Development Goals) SDG Fund, aims to support the Government of Viet Nam in the development and implementation of integrated nutrition and food security strategies. MOH and MARD are assigned by the Government to implement, in coordination with the UN agencies, this programme at Central level and two provinces namely Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan.
Workshop participants included representatives from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Embassy of Spain in Viet Nam, UN agencies, representatives from Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan provinces, development partners and those from national and local institutions in Viet Nam.
With Viet Nam a Delivering as One country within the UN system, this joint programme was implemented under the One UN Plan with a combination of complementary and comparative expertise of four UN agencies, with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) taking the lead and supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Women. The programme targeted the most disadvantaged ethnic minorities and those living in poverty in Ninh Thuan and Lao Cai provinces to reduce inequity gaps with a goal to improve the nutritional status of reproductive aged women and boys and girls under-five.
With financial support from Spanish Government through the SDG Fund, after nearly two years’ implementation the Joint Programme had made significant progress.
The closing workshop was a unique opportunity to generate knowledge and share lessons learned from the joint programme not only related to technical issues on food security and nutrition, but also to gather partners to discuss and document valuable lessons learned.
“We believe that the great success achieved by the programme is the close coordination between the agriculture and health sectors from central to local levels in implementing agriculture interventions related to nutrition to help each other address nutrition and food security issues in households,” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh, Director General of Maternal and Child Health Department, MoH.
Mr. JongHa Bae, FAO Representative in Viet Nam on behalf UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, said: “The joint programme reinforces Viet Nam’s commitment to the 17 SDGs, especially SDG1 on ending extreme poverty and SDG 2 on ending hunger, achieving food security, nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030.”
With a focus on the poverty-impacted provinces of Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan, the programme supported capacity development of national and local institutions, organizations and policy-makers responsible for management and implementation of nutrition and food security programmes. During implementation, the programme faced unexpected challenges due to the severe drought affecting Ninh Thuan province. The joint programme was instrumental in activating the emergency response using key initiatives on integrated community-based nutrition and food security.
For further information, please contact
Ms Nguyen Mai Huong, Maternal and Child Health Department, Ministry of Health at [email protected]
Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhat, FAO Programme Coordinator at [email protected]