PHM-Exch> Some reflections on how nutrition improves

[Claudio Schuftan]

*  October blog
*

*  *Claudio Schuftan



Here is a quick summary of some actions that have been deemed relevant to
nutrition in impoverished countries around the world:

   - * *Equitable economic development is positively related to nutritional
   improvement.


   - Equitable growth strategies are a more efficient long-term means of
   alleviating poverty and indirectly improving nutrition, than targeted
   poverty alleviation programmes.
   - Quantity, quality and distribution of social expenditures are central
   for the above to happen.
   - Mutually reinforcing long-term effects on nutrition can be had by
   investing in women’s health and in their education.
   - Social discrimination against women is common in countries where
   nutrition has not improved.
   - Participatory processes in nutrition programmes are as important as
   their activities as such.
   - A mix of top-down and bottom-up interventions is the most pragmatic
   and effective approach often generating synergies.
   - The most successful and sustainable nutrition programmes have strong
   community ownership.
   - Nutrition issues can and have influenced broader development policies.
   - Development of an explicit nutrition policy is a vital prerequisite to
   the mobilisation of sectoral awareness and support.
   - A synthesis of the recent lessons learned (pertaining to reasons
   behind real nutritional improvements) still leaves us with some
   apprehensions, because, when malnutrition (an outcome indicator) improves,
   it leaves no explicit track or trail of why it did so. It basically is
   still left to us to sort out the reasons.**


Only local action, community mobilisation and holding authorities to
account creates the needed enabling environment for improving nutrition.

To read the full blog, go to

http://wp.me/plAxa-1wZ

Claudio
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