Vice President of the Republic of Malawi urges the world to address the silent epidemic- Hidden Hunger
A panel of leading experts on nutrition have issued a call for action at the Commonwealth Health Ministers annual meeting to tackle 'the silent epidemic of Hidden Hunger'. The most obvious victims are the 2 billion people in developing countries whose diet does not provide them with the minerals and vitamins they need – usually because they cannot afford or cannot find the nutritious foods they need.
Keynote speaker, the Right Honourable Vice President for Malawi, Joyce Banda, spoke about the ‘Malawian experience’ where the Government has put malnutrition at the top of the political agenda, highlighting the successes and obstacles along the way. And she called on other Commonwealth Governments ‘to face the challenge of the silent epidemic of Hidden Hunger.'
read more..... Press release Keynote Address: Right Honourable Joyce Banda Vice President of Malawi SIGHT AND LIFE presentation: Dr K Kraemer Unicef presention: Dr W Schultink WFP presentation: Dr M Bloem SIGHT AND LIFE Supporters Feature Urgent Call for Global Action on Nutrition
Background to Policy Brief:
Scaling up Nutrition: A Framework for Action A strong call for global action for nutrition was presented during 2009 by the Global Action Plan for Nutrition (GAP) and highlighted that we cannot achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) without global coordinated action on nutrition. It re-emphasized that the battle against malnutrition was urgent but could be won if everyone came together to eliminate this scourge and ensure adequate nutrition especially for mothers and young children. The reality is that solutions exist that offer the highest possible returns to development. But the reality is also that nutrition has, for the most part, been regarded as an afterthought in development priorities and has been seriously underemphasized by both donors and developing countries. The call is that there is a moral and economic imperative to engage global leaders to place nutrition high on the international political agenda and scale up effective interventions.
GAP has raised the discussion about the following: who? – the need for an institutional anchor to give legitimacy; what? – details of the required actions and scaling-up; when? – the urgency in the light of the MDG goals; how? – the resources and commitment required. Although there have been many questions and concerns raised, there is global agreement that there needs to be consultation and buy-in from a wide constituency and there is indeed a need for an advocacy instrument to create interest and momentum that ultimately leads to nutrition gaining recognition as being a cornerstone of development.
Collaborated policy brief outlines framework for action
Towards achieving this, a “Policy Brief – Scaling-up Nutrition: a Framework for Action” has been prepared with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Japan, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank and is based on a series of broad consultations and contributions. The brief is authored by independent consultants Keith Bezanson and Paul Isenman.
This policy brief has two main purposes. The first is to provide an outline of the emerging framework of key considerations, principles and priorities for action to address undernutrition. The second is to mobilize support for increased investment in a set of nutrition interventions across different sectors. The document is intended to be used to engage policymakers and opinion leaders rather than nutrition scientists.
The brief outlines four key elements:
1. Start from the principle that what ultimately matters is what happens at the country level. Individual country nutrition strategies and programs, while drawing on international evidence of good practice, must be country “owned” and built on the country’s specific needs and capacities. 2. Sharply scale up evidence-based cost-effective interventions, according highest priority to the minus nine to 24 month highest return window of opportunity. A conservative global estimate for financing these interventions – covering behavior change, micronutrients, therapeutic feeding, and complementary strengthening of capacity and the evidence base – would be $10+ billion (US) per year. 3. Take a multi-sectoral approach that includes mainstreaming nutrition in related sectors and using indicators of undernutrition as one of the key measures of overall progress. The closest actionable links are to food security (including agriculture), social protection (including emergency relief), and public health (including maternal and child health, immunization and family planning). There are also important links to education, water supply and sanitation as well as to cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, governance (including accountability and corruption), and state fragility.
4. Provide substantially scaled up domestic and external assistance for country-owned nutrition programs and capacity. To this end, assure that nutrition is explicitly supported in global initiatives for food security, social protection and public health, and that external assistance follows the agreed principles of aid effectiveness of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. Support major efforts at national and global level for strengthening the evidence base – through better data, monitoring and evaluation and research – and, importantly, for advocacy for addressing undernutrition.
The brief states that the need for action is clear, as: “The problem is so serious; and the evidence is overwhelming that the proposed package of interventions offer exceptionally high development returns; and because the MDGs cannot be achieved without urgent attention to nutrition, the costs of inaction – as measured by child mortality, compromised life chances and reduced economic productivity – are unacceptably high.” In addition to stressing the urgency for action, it also calls for a collective plan that includes developing countries, external partners, civil society and the private sector.
Act now: high stakes will lead to high returns
The conclusion eloquently says it all: “There is now a window of opportunity for the global community to take effective action to reduce global undernutrition, particularly among the youngest and most vulnerable children. The stakes are high and so are the returns. The time to act is now.” Although there will be further discussion as to the way forward, an important journey has begun. The Policy Brief is available on the SIGHT AND LIFE website and of many other organizations endorsing it.
click here to access Supplement to the January 2010 edition of the Journal of Nutrition:
`Impact of Climate Change, the Economic Crisis and the Increase in Food Prices` Almost one year after our successful workshop on the above topic, the proceeding were published as a supplement to the January 2010 edition of the Journal of Nutrition. This unique supplement, the first to address the impact of the triple crises on malnutrutrion, covers a broad range of current topics relevant for the broader nutrition community and beyond. It should be used as a wake up-call for decision makers to save the life of this and futrue generations of children. Read more about it under:
World Food Crisis: A Wake-Up Call to Save a Generation of Children. Participants Statement: Castel Gondolfo, Italy, 25 January, 2009
Badham J
Castel Gandolfo Workshop: An Introduction to the Impact of Climate Change, the Economic Crisis, and the Increase in the Food Prices on Malnutrition
Bloem MW, Semba RD, Kraemer K
Editorial Comment: Helping the Vulnerable
Nabarro D
How to Ensure Nutrition Security in the Global Economic Crisis to Protect and Enhance Development of Yong Children and Our Common Future
de Pee S, Brinkman HJ, Webb P, Godfrey S, Darnton-Hill I, Alderman H, Semba RD, Piwoz E, Bloem MW
Medium- to Long-Run Implications of High Food Prices for Global Nutrition
Webb P
Safety Nets Can Help Address the Risks to Nutrition from Increasing Climate Variability
Alderman H
High Food Prices and the Global Financial Crisis Have Reduced Access to Nutritious Food and Worsened Nutritional Status and Health
Brinkman HJ, de Pee S, Sanogo I, Subran L, Bloem MW
Maternal and Young Child Nutrition
Adversely Affected by External Shocks Such as Increasing Global Food Prices
Darnton-Hill I, Cogill B
The Food, Fuel, and Financial Crisis Affect the Urban and Rural Poor Disproportionately: A Review of the Evidence
Ruel MT, Garrett JL, Hawkes C, Cohen MJ
Impact of the Economic Crisis and Increase in Food Prices on Child Mortality: Exploring Nutritional Pathways
Christian P
Household Dietary Diversity and Food Expenditures Are Closely Linked in Rural Bangladesh, Increasing the Risk of Malnutrition Due to the Financial Crisis
Thorne-Lyman A, Valpiani N, Sun K, Semba RD, Klotz CL, Kraemer K, Akhter N, de Pee S, Moench-Pfanner R, Sari M, Bloem MW
Household Rice Expenditure and Maternal and Child Nutritional Status in Bangladesh
Campbell AA, de Pee S, Sun K, Kraemer K, Thorne-Lyman A, Moench-Pfanner R, Sari M, Akhter N, Bloem MW, Semba RD
Higher Household Expenditure on Animal-Source and Nongrain Foods Lowers the Risk of Stunting among Children 0-59 Months Old in Indonesia: Implications of Rising Food Prices
Sari M, de Pee S, Bloem MW, Sun K, Thorne-Lyman A, Moench-Pfanner R, Akhter N, Kraemer K, Sember RD
Vitamin A Intake and Staturs in Populations Facing Economic Stress
West KP, Mehra S
The Role of Expanded Coverage of the National Vitamin A Program in Preventing Morbidity and Mortality among Preschool Children in India
Semba RD, de Pee S, Sun K, Bloem MW, Raju VK
Macronutrient Supplementation and Food Prices in HIV Treatment
Sztam KA, Fawzi WW, Duggan C
Preventing Food Crisis Using a Food Policy Approach
Timmer CP Expert panel convened to advance unified advocacy on global problem of hidden hunger
On the eve of the 2009 International Congress of Nutrition (ICN) in Bangkok on October 5–9, 2009, SIGHT AND LIFE convened an expert consultation to advance a unified advocacy strategy for including essential micronutrients as part of commitments to alleviate global hunger in all its forms. The meeting sought to develop a shared framework for consistently communicating issues on micronutrient malnutrition, or hidden hunger, and start the process of mapping global hidden hunger, in advance of the next World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2010.
Given this ambitious goal, SIGHT AND LIFE invited a panel of renowned experts in nutrition, public health, agriculture, development and related disciplines to offer their opinions, insights and other contributions. Participating on the panel were high-level scientists, academics and decision makers from a range of global institutions, including UN agencies, U.S. government agencies, universities, and international NGOs.
read more......
Micronutrient Supplementation rated Top Priority at 2008 Copenhagen Consensus A panel of the world’s leading economists determined that eliminating micronutrient deficiency in children offers a better rate of return than combating global warming, disease or terrorism. The expert panel, which included five Nobel laureates, met at the 2008 Copenhagen Consensus to evaluate 30 proposed solutions to 10 of most serious challenges facing the world today. read more on this topic... | |
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Hidden Hunger -- the missing link between Health and Food Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith; Rt Hon Joyce Banda, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi; Dr Klaus Kraemer, Sight and Life; Dr Martin Bloem, Chief Nutrition and HIV/AIDS policy at World Food Programme; H.E. Dr. Brave Ndisale; Dr Werner Schultink, Associate Director of Nutrition at UNICEF; Dr Mary Shawa, Principal Secretary for Nutrition, HIV and AIDS in the Malawian President’s Office (from left to right) The meeting was jointly hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and SIGHT AND LIFE .
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