Global forum on food security and nutrition

George Kent, Department of Political Science, University of Hawai’i, United States of America

VERTICAL PARTNERSHIPS

I am concerned that the approach discussed here does not give sufficient attention to what people at the community level could do for themselves. More attention should be given to what higher level agencies could do to facilitate those local initiatives. As Florence Egal put it, “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.”

Top-down approaches tend to weaken and disempower those working at ground level. This is not a matter of simply favoring bottom-up approaches over top-down approaches. It is about figuring out how to work out an appropriate “division of labor” between agencies at different levels. Based on the principle of subsidiarity, higher level agencies should not do and decide things that ought to be done and decided at lower levels.

There is a need for discussion about how to work out the division of labor. Agencies at the higher levels should shift from designing interventions based solely on their understandings of both the problems and solutions, and move more toward facilitating analyses and action by those at lower levels. These should be partnership arrangements, with learning going on at all levels.

George Kent

Emerio Rubalcava, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Mexico

Original contribution in Spanish

Estimada, FSS moderador,

Es importante la reestructuración de los ministerios o departamentos en los diferentes niveles de gobierno (nacional, regional, local) para que se alineen en las mismas políticas alimentarias y nutricionales, por que en ocasiones chocan o están ausentes.

Ejemplo  en México la Subsecretaria de Alimentación está asignada a la Secretaria de Agricultura (SAGARPA) y su  participación en la Estrategia antiobesidad, de manera oficial  es casí nula.. La Estrategia Antiobesidad está dirigida por la Secretaria de Salud.

M.C. Emerio Rubalcava

Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales

Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEMex)
Toluca, México

English translation

Dear FSN Forum moderator,

Restructuring the ministries or departments at the different government levels (national, regional, local) to align their food and nutrition policies is important, as they are occasionally conflicting or not in place.

For example, in Mexico, the Under-Secretariat of Food is allocated to the Secretary of Agriculture (known in Spanish as SAGARPA) and its formal participation in the Strategy Against Obesity (Estrategia antiobesidad) is almost non-existent. The Strategy Against Obesity is directed by the Secretary of Health.

M.C. Emerio Rubalcava

Institute of Agricultural and Rural Sciences

Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEMex)
Toluca, Mexico

Diana Lee-Smith, Mazingira Institute, Kenya

Based on Christine's commentary so far, I want to emphasize something I touched on in my contribution earlier in the debate.

There are existing data linkng lack of dietary diversity (over-consumption of starches and sugars) to low incomes in Southern Africa. See the work of AFSUN (African Food Security Urban Network) and the article I co-auhtored in the attached issue of Right to Food and Nutrition Watch Magazine last year (attached). I think it is also establlshed through other evidence that lack of dietary diversity is linked to life-style diseases and to obesity.  From this we can conclude that there is already some evidence that, in the urban transition, the malnutrition associated with obesity and life-style diseases is not associated with income increase and over-eating as is often asserted. Rather, it seems to be associated with urban poverty. The lack of afforbale food for the urban poor is a major issue.

One of the ways this is being tackled in Africa is through encouraging urban agriculture. This enables poor urban residents to produce micro-nutrients for themsleves, in the form of animal source foods such as milk and eggs as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. These may also increase available supplies in urban areas and help increase employment and incomes. I also attach the book Healthy City Harvests, published in 2008 which contains extensive research on urban agriculture, including establishing the link between urban agriculture and improved food and nutirtion security.

Attachments:

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/sites/default/files/discussions/contributions/RtFNWatch_EN_web.pdf

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/sites/default/files/discussions/contributions/Healthy%20City%20Harvests%20Nov08%20004361.pdf

Marilyn Shapley, InterAction, United States of America

To whom it may concern:

We are sending in the attached comments on behalf of two InterAction members who also submitted separately. Apologies for missing the first deadline!

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best,

Marilyn

Attachment:

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/sites/default/files/discussions/contributions/InterAction%20_UN%20Decade%20of%20Nutrition%20Responses%202.23.2017.docx

David Pelletier, Cornell University, United States of America

I am pleased to contribute to the draft work programme on the UN Decade of Action for Nutrition.  I have three suggestions:

1. I suggest adding the bolded clause below.

48. Through the convening and catalytic roles of the Nutrition Decade, action networks will be established. These action networks are informal coalitions of countries aimed at advocating for the establishment of policies and legislation, allowing the exchange of practices, promoting the conduct and capacity strengthening for implementation science, highlighting successes and providing mutual support to accelerate implementation.

2. I suggest adding the bolded clause below:

58. The Nutrition Decade will seek to strengthen the quality and efficiency of policy and programme implementation and monitoring, including the application of implementation science. Technical assistance will need to be responsive and opportunistic in leveraging technological advances. An emphasis will be placed on amplifying country capacities and on ensuring that knowledge and experiences are shared and successes are scaled up where possible.

3. In Table 1 I suggest adding the following:

Implementation science: strengthen the capacity, funding and practice of implementation science at country and global levels.