Global forum on food security and nutrition

Mahtab S. Bamji, Dangoria Charitable Trust, India

Dear FSN Forum

Attached please find the PDFdocument with my comments, using note tool. Will be obliged if you can load it. Thanks.

Dr. Ms Mahtab S. Bamji,

INSA Emeritus Scientist, Dangoria Charitable Trust, Hyderabad

 

1. Does the work programme present a compelling vision for enabling strategic interaction and mutual support across existing initiatives, platforms, forums and programmes, given the stipulation of Res 70/259 that the Decade should be organized with existing institutions and available resources?

To some extent. See comments on the document and under 5.

2. What are your general comments to help strengthen the presented elements of the first draft work programme of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition?

See comments on the document and under 5.

3. Do you feel you can contribute to the success of the Nutrition Decade or align yourself with the proposed range of action areas?

May be. Being 82 years old retired woman scientist who is now engaged in science and society related programmes with nutrition as focus in the villages of Medak district of the state of Telangana, I have some limitations.

4. How could this draft work programme be improved to promote collective action to achieve the transformational change called for by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the ICN2 outcomes? What is missing?

Interdepartmental convergence between food, health, water, environment needs to be emphasised for all countries.

5. Do you have specific comments on the section on accountability and shared learning?

(i)  There should be an executive summary clearly stating the fact that Nutrition security goes beyond food security - though food security is very important. For Nutrition security, there has to be Awareness and Access at Affordable cost to food security, safe drinking water, disease-free environment and health care outreach. This will take care of Absorption. There has to be convergence between these. As it is in India at least, the departments concerned with each of these work in silos.

(ii) The earlier sections prior to Action Areas are rather vague and verbose. See some comments on the manuscript.

(iii) The economic cost of malnutrition, particularly micronutrient deficiencies- the hidden hunger, to a nation needs to be emphasised. Nutrition should be a parameter for judging national development and not just economic parameters like GDP.

(iv) Nutrition should not be subsumed under health. Health often stops at immunisation, oral rehydration etc. Agenda should always be Health, Food  and Nutrition. In India except once, when Dr. Manmohan Singh called malnutrition “a curse”, nutrition never gets mentioned in budgets. This point should be emphasised clearly.

(v) Nutrition should be included as a subject in the professional courses like health and agriculture. As it is the knowledge of physicians and other health workers and agriculture scientists, extension workers is very poor. Latter will help to leverage nutrition into agriculture.

(vi) WTO should bring subsidies relevant to poor in developing countries, in green box. Rich farmers are getting huge subsidies in developed countries.

(vii) Nutrition monitoring and surveillance is mentioned in the table but not so clearly in the text. This is important.

(viii) Table 1 only lists items related to food security. No mention is made of ensuring safe drinking water, disease free environment and access to affordable health care. These are very important.

(ix) Indiscriminate use of antibiotics (including the last resort new  ones) in animal husbandry and fishery is a great threat to development of resistance to  antibiotics in humans and livestock. This point should be brought out clearly.

Attachment:

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/sites/default/files/discussions/contributions/UN%20First-draft-Work-programme-Nutrition-Decade.pdf

Carlos Granado Fernandez, Universidad Politécnica de las Fuerzas Armadas, Venezuela

Original contribution in Spanish

En mi pais VENEZUELA hay muy poca participacion en sus programas a pesar de que necesitamos mas que otro pais en la region de estos programas ya que tenemos muchos problemas de desnutricion en todas sus categorias como consecuencia de la falta de produccion de alimentos.

Esta situacion a empeorado drasticamente este año pese a los esfuerzos del gobierno de subsidiar algunos alimentos a los mas necesitados sin ningun tipo de resultado por la corrupcion del sistema de distribucion que caracteriza a los empleados que laboran en estos programas.

Enfermedades como la diabetes son mas frecuentes por la falta de azucar en la dieta diaria.

Espero estas sencillas palabras le sean de alguna utilidad, en nombre de mis hermanos, y nos apoyen para mejorar la nutricion en nuestro pais.

SIEMPRE A SUS ORDENES PARA CUALQUIER OTRA INFORMACION QUE NECESITEN

Saludos Ing. Prof. Carlos Granado F

VENEZUELA

English translation

Even though my country, VENEZUELA, is the one that most needs these programmes in the region due to the many undernutrition problems caused by food production shortages, the overall involvement of the population is very limited.  

This year this situation has deteriorated dramatically despite the government's efforts to subsidize several food products to those in greatest need. The corrupt distribution system, also affecting the employees working in these programmes, makes the attempt fruitless.

Diseases like diabetes are more frequent due to the lack of sugar in the daily diet.

I hope you find these simple remarks useful, on behalf of my brothers, and that you will help us to improve nutrition in our country.

I REMAIN AT YOUR DISPOSAL TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY REQUIRE.

Best regards,

Prof. Eng. Carlos Granado Fernández

VENEZUELA