Executive Summary This policy details how WFP can support governments in achieving their commitments to reducing malnutrition and reaching Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, particularly target 2.2. As the world embarks on the path of sustainable development, WFP recognizes that good nutrition is both a critical input to and an outcome of the SDGs. With concurrent emergencies continuing around the world, humanitarian response will remain a priority in WFPs nutrition activities and will be essential to achieving the SDGs. Ensuring that nutrient needs are met before, during and after emergencies is central to WFPs work, as the changing nature and frequency of crises amplify already critical levels of malnutrition.
The policy builds on the good work started by the previous WFP nutrition policy and takes into account evaluation findings, new evidence and innovations from WFP programmes. It expands WFPs focus on preventing malnutrition to cover all forms of malnutrition including both undernutrition and overweight/obesity (Box 1) while reaffirming WFPs support to treatment of moderate acute malnutrition, which is a critical part of the continuum of care.
The policy is aligned with WFPs Integrated Road Map and reaffirms national governments as WFPs primary partners. At the country level, WFP coordinates with other United Nations agencies, using the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) or other mechanisms to support government-led strategies and programmes.
This policy commits WFP to increasing its focus on resilience-building and stunting prevention in longer-term humanitarian responses with national governments and other partners and aims to ensure that WFP applies a nutrition lens in all of its activities, identifying and leveraging opportunities to improve nutrition through its work. The policy aims to leverage WFPs support to reaching SDG 2 by ensuring the availability of, access to, demand for and consumption of diets that comprehensively meet but do not exceed the nutrient requirements of nutritionally vulnerable groups.
There is a clear need to accelerate reductions in malnutrition, which remains the underlying cause of 45 percent of deaths among children under 5 annually. Good nutrition matters throughout the life cycle, but is especially important during the first 1,000 days from conception to 2 years of age. Evidence shows that undernutrition during this period can have lasting impacts on a childs growth, learning and future productivity, leading to significant losses in national productivity and economic growth that are equivalent to 811 percent of gross domestic product. Such chronic undernutrition can lead to stunting, increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life.
Worldwide, approximately 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, 51 million children under 5 are wasted, 159 million are stunted and 43 million are overweight. This burden of malnutrition is reflected in sub-optimal physical development and health among populations, which undermines the social and economic development of countries.
Ten evidence-based, nutrition-specific interventions have been identified, which if brought to scale would decrease child deaths by 15 percent and stunting by 20 percent.1 Continued focus on nutrition-specific interventions, particularly those that prevent malnutrition, is necessary, but nutrition-sensitive approaches are also essential in accelerating progress towards ending malnutrition in all its forms. With its strong operational and technical skills, WFP will build on its broad-ranging experience of nutrition in changing contexts, to support direct implementation and provide governments with technical assistance in improving analysis, targeting, modality selection, delivery and monitoring for nutrition interventions based on its complementary strengths.
In its enhanced engagement in nutrition, WFP will prioritize support to vulnerable groups to increase their access to and consumption of adequate and diverse diets, using gender-sensitive nutrition analysis as the base for gender-transformative nutrition programming in line with the WFP Gender Policy.
Combining approaches for improving gender equality and womens empowerment (GEWE) with nutrition programming has the potential to produce mutually reinforcing results for both GEWE and nutrition. Availability of, access to and demand for nutritious food are fundamental in supporting good nutrition, eliminating poverty and achieving the SDGs for inclusive economic growth, health and education. They require moving beyond the focus on quantity calories and increasing attention to quality nutrients.
A world free from malnutrition can only be attained through government-led, multi-partner and multi-sector efforts involving United Nations agencies, civil society, international organizations, foundations, academia and the private sector. WFP commits to working as a global advocate, and at the regional and country levels, to support programmes and enhance national capacities for overcoming constraints on availability of, access to, demand for and consumption of the safe, healthy and adequate diets needed to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.2 Coordinated partnerships are a cornerstone of WFPs engagement in nutrition. Addressing the complex drivers of malnutrition requires collaboration among diverse sectors and stakeholders and intensified work to scale up nutrition-specific and -sensitive programmes at the country level. With partners, WFP has committed to incorporating nutrition components into appropriate programmes for which nutrition is not a primary objective, and to linking vulnerable groups to these components where possible.
The 2012 Nutrition Policy provided the foundation for WFPs approach to nutrition by emphasizing how a combination of nutrition-specific and -sensitive interventions could be used to address malnutrition. This entails a context-specific focus on supporting women, men, girls and boys in consuming healthy diets, balancing immediate needs with long-term approaches to strengthen local food and social protection systems. The Nutrition Policy significantly enhances WFPs work by aligning it with the 2030 Agenda, building on WFPs current approach based on the latest thinking and evidence, and diversifying the means of supporting countries in achieving their nutrition-related goals.
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WFP's Nutrition Policy 2017-2021 - ReliefWeb
