Investment in nutrition is key to unlocking a better future: WFP

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is marking World Food Day on October 16 by highlighting the power of nutrition to transform individuals, societies and economies, and the need to make it central to all development efforts.

“Undernourished girls and boys face barriers in health, in school performance and later, in the workplace, which limit their human potential and their capacity to contribute to the societies in which they live,” said WFP executive director Ertharin Cousin, on the occasion.

“Prioritising nutrition today is an investment in our collective global future.  The investment must involve food, agriculture, health and education systems,” she said.

Today some 842 million people - more than one in eight people in the world – suffer from chronic hunger. Yet even more – around two billion people - lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives.

If the global community invested $1.2 billion per year for five years on reducing micronutrient deficiencies, the benefits in better health, fewer child deaths and increased future earnings would generate gains worth $15.3 billion.

“In Nepal, WFP’s nutrition interventions aim at supporting the government in improving the health and nutritional status of mothers and young children,” WFP Representative in Nepal Nicole Menage said. “This year alone 110,000 expecting and nursing mothers and their children are being provided with take-home food rations through health posts where they also access essential pre- and post-natal care.”
The theme of this year’s World Food Day is ‘Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition’. Though there are challenges, the WFP is providing food assistance to 97 million people worldwide

THE WFP FOCUSES:

· Rapidly increasing the number of children and new mothers who receive new nutritionally enhanced food products.

· Focusing on the crucial 1,000 day window - from the womb to two years of age – where getting sufficient nutrients and calories is crucial for full growth.

· Stepping up assistance through cash and vouchers when food is available in markets, so consumers can buy more fresh and varied local foods.

· Emphasising dietary diversity and fresh foods in its school feeding programmes, by working with local communities and farmers.

·  Working with private partners and research institutes to assess the nutritional impact of providing fortified rice in school meals

·  Supporting the creation of a solid evidence base to guide countries in their nutrition policies and strategies, like the recent Cost of Hunger in Africa survey.