June 3rd, 2020

Urban governance for nutrition

Published by GAIN,

The ‘Urban Governance for Nutrition‘ programme by GAIN brings diverse stakeholders together to develop policies and actions that help to equitably and sustainably shape urban food environments to deliver healthy diets. Three working papers have been released. The first working paper (PDF) examines the Clean Street Food Hub Initiative (CSFHI), which promotes food safety and hygiene at popular street food locations across India, as an example of successfully prioritising (urban) governance for nutrition.  The initiative has thus far certified eight locations throughout the country, led to improvements in food safety and hygiene, and begun to include non-hub vendors in training and certification processes. The involvement of private partners has increased the sustainability of the initiative, and street food festivals have brought increased attention to the supported hubs and street foods in general. The second working paper (PDF) focuses on the Punjab Food Authoroty (PFA) model as a governance mechanism, showing how it is bringing multiple benefits to the food system and ultimately to consumers through improved food safety and nutrition. It is therefore a useful example of why urban governance for nutrition  should be prioritised by governments to improve nutrition. Since the PFA’s establishment, greater compliance with standards at inspections and higher rates of food businesses being licensed imply likely improvements in food safety. Food labelling and safety issues are openly communicated to the public. The third working paper (PDF) provides insights into how multi-level nutrition governance and urban govenance for nutrition are implemented in practice in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) provides Tanzania with a strong system for multisectoral nutrition governance at all levels. NMNAP has successfully helped to make nutrition a priority in the country. Accountability for achieving nutrition goals has been strengthened. As a result, multisectoral coordination and cohesive alignment with national priorities has improved at all levels.

Curated from gainhealth.org