South Asian governments are increasingly focusing on improving the nutrition conditions of their citizens and they are not only becoming signatories to international agreements and commitments. They are keen on reviewing ways in which they can reverse the trend at home- a positive way to address the issue, Dr. Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives World Bank said.
Speaking at a South Asian roundtable forum on ‘Putting the Lens on the Consumer in Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Food Systems in South Asia’ in Colombo yesterday Dr. Pswarayi-Riddihough said, the governments can further push this positive trend by focusing more on the end consumer and how they make choices on what to buy and eat. South Asia’s average stunting rate is estimated at 33 percent; while that for wasting is estimated at 12 percent.
In this backdrop, a group of South Asian stakeholders - including government and private sector officials – is currently holding a forum in Colombo to discuss how to create more effective nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems in South Asia. It was organized by the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI) together with the World Bank.
The roundtable forum to be concluded today, will probe into what actions are needed to improve nutritional choices through consumer engagement with the private sector and governments. “Engaging the public and private partners allows a partnership to form building on key factors such as taste, affordability and tradition, all key drivers to how and what we eat,” she said.
Dr. Pswarayi-Riddihough pointed out that although there is much emphasis on nutrition-sensitive agriculture production and distribution of nutritious food, there is also a critical need to better understand the end consumer and how they make choices on what to buy and eat.
“Also to work together with producers and consumers to improve nutrition is another need. Private food markets continue to be the primary platform through which consumers engage; as such there is a need to collaborate with the private and public sectors. It is also quite clear that enhanced food safety standards, naturally nutritious foods and food fortification require collaboration between the public and private sectors to get to scale.”
It is important to continue to disseminate information on nutrition in ways and using target groups. A life-long chain of educating consumers is another requirement as each stage in life requires different nutrition.
She added, “As the poorest are hardest hit by poor nutrition, a focus on improving their accessibility to good food should be ensured. It’s no secret that fresh fruit and vegetables are often not the cheapest foods. In addition to improving agricultural chains to reduce their costs it is also possible to teach people how to grow some in their own back gardens.”
A central theme to the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI), the key organizer of this event is - strengthened commitment and increased capacity for more effective and integrated food and nutrition security actions. While the World Bank manages and administers the SAFANSI trust-fund, the funding is provided by the UK Government and the European Commission.
The approach SAFANSI has endorsed is to not focus on a single agency, sector, or official as responsible for food and nutrition security. Rather, it tries to engage all sectors, all of government and including regional bodies - focusing on sharing lessons and solutions that can be adapted by others.
The partners of the event include —SUN, SNV, Food Industry Asia, Nutrition International, UNICEF, LANSA, HarvestPlus, Public Health Foundation of India, Tata Trusts, and Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. The Government of Sri Lanka and the Presidential Secretariat were the hosts.
(CJ)