Abstract
Food insecurity is a significant development challenge in Nepal. Therefore, child malnutrition situation is still alarming. Considering this situation, Nepal has launched food security and multi-sectoral nutrition plan at federal, province and local level to enhance the capacity of local governments in participatory and inclusive planning for nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions so that poor, socially marginalized and vulnerable populations have easy access to safe and nutritious food and services in the communities. The purpose of this research is to explore the implementation status of food diversity and multi-sectoral nutrition initiatives at the local level, and identify the opportunities and challenges in accessing food and nutrition services by the marginalized communities in particular. Local governments have started participatory planning and implementation of food and nutrition-sensitive interventions in coordination with other sectors such as health, agriculture, livestock, education, water and sanitation and urban development. The mapping of poor and socially marginalized populations has been conducted in coordination with health workers, local government officials, political leaders, civil society organizations, media and local communities. Participatory review and in-depth interview with key stakeholders reveals that food and nutrition-friendly local governance has been instrumental in empowering marginalized communities to access food and nutrition services to mothers with malnourished children. Local knowledge, and practices for food systems and healthy diets have significantly improved, and it has not only profound impacts on the health and nutrition status of mothers and children, but also have contributed to overall social well-being of families in the communities.
Presenters
Jhabindra BhandariStudent, MPhil-PhD Scholar, Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Bagmati, Nepal
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Food and multi-sector nutrition, Participatory and inclusive planning, Local governance, Food systems, Socially marginalized
