United Nations System
Standing Committee on Nutrition

Thursday 5 April

Opening of working group session – Dr Kraisid Tontisirin, Chair

The overall objective of the Working Group is to act as a forum for the consolidation of views and for collective decision-making on how agencies and other partners can collaborate in improving household food security and nutrition. It facilitates the sharing of information and the development of an understanding of different agency approaches and strategies for improving household food security and nutrition to achieve the World Food Summit goal of reducing by half the numbers of the undernourished by the year 2015; it builds concensus and harmonizes efforts for adopting commonly agreed workplans detailing comprehensive and sustainable approaches, initiatives and programmes for overcoming nutrition and food insecurity problems focusing, where appropriate, on community-centred food-based strategies; and provides feedback on the implementation and impact of the agreed workplan.

The objective of this Session is to reach agreement on the process by which we can collaborate more effectively in developing a workplan for making improved household food security and nutrition the centre of the development process.

Reporting back on last year’s recommendations:

• focusing the Working Group’s activities on food based approaches to improving nutrition
• household food security and nutrition impacts of project food assistance
• role of the public sector in generating biotechnology for the poor
• activities of the taskforce

Discussion

A brief providing policy and programme guidance for improved agency collaboration for household food security is to be drafted by FAO and circulated electronically to members of the Working Group prior to the meeting for review. The brief will draw upon the paper on household food security approved by the CCPOQ and other sources but giving additional focus to the level of the household. The brief will further harmonize efforts to develop and implement comprehensive and sustainable community-centred food-based strategies and nutrition intervention programmes at global, national, community and household levels for overcoming nutrition and food insecurity problems. The brief will provide a rationale for putting nutrition and household food security on the development agenda and contribute to the establishment of a common inter-agency position for nutrition and household food security, building on the concensus reached among agencies.

Members are requested to prepare short reports (2 to 3 pages) summarizing their activities in household food security and nutrition activities and to have them circulated electronically ahead of the meeting. Areas where further discussions could be expected to enhance understanding of objectives, current work, and requirements, together with practical ideas and suggestions for greater cooperation and synergy in these areas should be highlighted. Successes of and problems with inter-agency collaboration should be flagged and recommendations on how this can be improved may be presented verbally. This will help focus the debate and lead to the identification of steps which need to be taken to strengthen inter-agency collaboration.

Discussion and issues arising

Members are invited to present posters on the above-mentioned topic. These may also be sent electronically ahead of time to members. Possible topics for inclusion in the poster session include:

• ICRW/IFPRI - results of the Stakeholder Survey funded by USAID on what nutrition and agriculture communities consider to be the benefits and difficulties of working together.
• Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANta) – working with PVOs in Food Aid
• The Save the Children Fund Food Security Unit, East & Central Africa Regional Office - food security and nutrition analysis using the Household Food Economy approach in emergency and development, and developing a model to facilitate the analysis of intra-household issues relating to nutrition, household food security and poverty.
• ICRW and CIP - action-research studies in Kenya and elsewhere through investments in women's capabilities and access to productive resources.
• FAO - sustainable livelihoods in Zambia, and community-centred food-based approaches at community and households levels in Somalia, Vietnam, and Panama; SOFI/FIVIMS activities. Mention will be made of the global coalition against hunger "Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger" for raising awareness of school children around the world on nutrition and development issues. A pc demonstration of this will be made to the Working Group on Nutrition of School-Age Children.

What can agencies do to foster greater collaboration? This may include reaching concensus on a state of the art paper containing a policy statement and action plan to move forward from the analysis to the implementation phase. The brief to be discussed during the E-Conference may provide a basis for this.

• Reaching concensus on policy and a workplan. What actions could be taken by which agency and organization?

• Putting nutrition and household food security on the development agenda. Review of UN working mechanisms at country and regional levels: incorporating nutrition and household food security into the UNDAF and CCA processes and strengthening linkages between the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security and the ACC/SCN. Increased collaboration may include work in the areas of the CGIAR research centres, specifically the role of international agricultural research in improving human nutrition and household food security through agriculture.

This will provide an opportunity for discussing details of how collaboration between agencies and other partners can be increased within the UN working mechanisms.

• Preparation of common position papers on subject areas or on items of topical interest for example: strengthening agriculture and consumption linkages; food-based dietary guidelines for vulnerable groups; successful strategies for improving nutrition and household food security; the prevention and control of micronutrient malnutrition – a food security issue; food fortification as one component of a nutrition intervention programme for combatting mironutrient deficiencies; the effects of HIV on nutrition and HFS; mitigating HIV/AIDS with a community level food security approach; protecting and promoting nutrition in emergencies; monitoring nutritional outcomes of household food security programmes; invite other suggestions for possible topics.

• Establishment and running of a clearing-house for information on the implementation and monitoring and general experiences related to HFS activities in pursuit of WFS goals. This may include (1) an interactive website (2) a listserve, and (3) a newsletter.
• Obtaining participation and support from donors and other partners. Fund raising possibilities for nutrition and household food security programmes. This may include the March of Dimes for supporting FBDG for pregnant women and children under two years of age.
• Accelerating and sustaining progress in reducing undernutrition focusing on community nutrition and household food security programmes. This will include the use of essential minimum needs (EMN) as goals and indicators.