Nutritional Issues in Food Aid - Nutrition Policy Discussion Paper No. 12













Table of Contents


UNITED NATIONS


NATIONS UNIES

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE ON COORDINATION - SUBCOMMITTEE ON NUTRITION


ACC/SCN SYMPOSIUM REPORT

Papers from a Symposium held at the ACC/SCN 19th Session
hosted by the World Food Programme, Rome
24-25 February, 1992

August 1993

ACC/SCN documents may be reproduced without prior permission, but please attribute to ACC/SCN

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the ACC/SCN or its UN member agencies concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


Information on the ACC/SCN Symposium Series, as well as additional copies of papers, can be obtained from the ACC/SCN Secretariat. Inquiries should be addressed to:


Dr John B Mason



Technical Secretary, ACC/SCN



c/o World Health Organization



20, Avenue Appia



CH-1211 Geneva 27



Switzerland

Facsimile No: (41-22) 798 88 91

UNITED NATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE ON COORDINATION - SUBCOMMITTEE ON NUTRITION (ACC/SCN)

The ACC/SCN is the focal point for harmonizing the policies and activities in nutrition of the United Nations system. The Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), which is comprised of the heads of the UN Agencies, recommended the establishment of the Sub-Committee on Nutrition in 1977, following the World Food Conference (with particular reference to Resolution V on food and nutrition). This was approved by the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC). The role of the SCN is to serve as a coordinating mechanism, for exchange of information and technical guidance, and to act dynamically to help the UN respond to nutritional problems.

The UN members of the SCN are FAO, IAEA, IFAD, ILO, UN, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRISD, UNU, WFC, WFP, WHO and the World Bank. From the outset, representatives of bilateral donor agencies have participated actively in SCN activities. The SCN is assisted by the Advisory Group on Nutrition (AGN), with six to eight experienced individuals drawn from relevant disciplines and with wide geographical representation. The Secretariat is hosted by WHO in Geneva.

The SCN undertakes a range of activities to meet its mandate. Annual meetings have representation from the concerned UN agencies, from 10 to 20 donor agencies, the AGN, as well as invitees on specific topics; these meetings begin with symposia on subjects of current importance for policy. The SCN brings certain such matters to the attention of the ACC. The SCN sponsors working groups on inter-sectoral and sector-specific topics.

The SCN compiles and disseminates information on nutrition, reflecting the shared views of the agencies concerned. Regular reports on the world nutrition situation are issued, and flows of external resources to address nutrition problems are assessed. State-of-the-Art papers are produced to summarize current knowledge on selected topics. SCN News is normally published twice per year. As decided by the Sub-Committee, initiatives are taken to promote coordinated activities - inter-agency programmes, meetings, publications - aimed at reducing malnutrition, primarily in developing countries.


Table of Contents


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD

SECTION I. Introduction and Background

Keynote Address
Issues in Food Aid and Nutrition

SECTION II. Public Works as a Nutrition Intervention

Labour-Intensive Public Works Programmes Supported by Food Aid as a Nutrition Intervention
Comments

Jens Schulthes
T C Moremi

Summing-up

Simon Maxwell

SECTION III. Supplementary Feeding

ACC/SCN Statement on the Benefits of Preventing Growth Failure in Early Childhood
Which Age Groups Should be Targeted for Supplementary Feeding?
Effects of Supplementary Feeding on the Growth of Children with Infection
Feeding Latin America's Children*
Comments on the Three Previous Papers by George Beaton, Juan Rivera, and Philip Musgrove

Reynaldo Martorell
Eileen Kennedy

Response

Philip Musgrove

Summing-Up

John Mason

Educational Aspects, Weaning Food Supplements and Targeting in Supplementary Feeding Programmes

SECTION IV. Nutrition of Refugees

ACC/SCN Statement on Nutrition, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Protecting Refugees' Nutrition with Food Aid
Comments

John Seaman
Basra Hassan
Rita Bhatia

Statement to Organizational Committee, 27 March 1992, by John Mason, Technical Secretary, ACC/SCN, Concerning the SCN's Report on Nutrition, Refugees, and Displaced Persons