Thanks for sharing this first draft work programme and congratulations for the progress to date. Considering where nutrition was ten years ago, the change is most appreciated!
I would however like to make a few comments for your consideration.
- Given the mandate of both FAO and WHO, the focus on national policies is logical. But unless we include explicitly the sub-national level we will not be in a position to address sustainably all forms of malnutrition. Promoting coherence of national, regional and international policies across multiple sectors is clearly very important, but coherence is most needed and can best be achieved at local level. One of the priorities of the Decade should therefore be the alignment and joint planning of local strategies for nutrition. Agriculture and health should be supported to jointly take the lead in supporting local governments.
- While bringing together nutrition actors is definitely urgently needed, it is equally urgent that nutrition actors systematically engage in relevant (and/or high profile) development fora and initiatives (e.g. climate change, right to food, urban development/territorial planning …) to add value to the debate and learn from other participants and mainstream nutrition. We need to get out from the ghetto we have contributed to build. Other actors need nutrition as a means to bring together a people-centred, integrated and pro-poor perspective but this awareness needs to be raised on both sides.
- There seems to be a confusion between food system and value chain - I quote A food system approach – from production to processing, storage, transportation, marketing, retailing and consumption –. Food systems should be analysed from the dietary entry point. The prevailing commodity-based approach cannot address complexity.
- Social protection is of course essential but needs to be seen in a broader perspective: why are people in need of social protection and what can be done about it? But also how can social protection measures seek win-win objectives and contribute to sustainable development? (Anecdotal evidence from the Andes mentions the erosion of local food and agriculture systems as beneficiaries switch to supermarket purchasing, while cash vouchers in NYC are linked to local farmers markets).
- Promoting healthy diets is good, but not sufficient. We need to ensure that they are the outcome of sustainable food systems which seek sustainable environmental management and social equity (implementing right to food. promoting youth employment and decent employment). We should therefore move beyond healthy dietary guidelines to sustainable dietary guidelines and from national to local (and when appropriate cross-border) education and communication strategies.
- While nobody can dispute the need for evidence-informed advocacy and communication, the focus on evidence-based nutrition interventions in the last decade has been on academic bio-medical research which neither intended nor is able to address sustainability. It is urgent to identify and review promising practices at local level to inform consumers and nutrition actors.
- Specific attention should be given to the legal and regulatory context: the multiplication of often contradictory rules at local level eventually undermines diet quality, livelihoods, biodiversity and health. This needs to be better understood and rationalized.
Dr. Florence Egal