Institute of Development Studies
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DFID Launch First Nutrition Strategy
15 March 2010 - Anna Taylor
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has just launched its first ever nutrition strategy. IDS has been pressing DFID to do more to tackle malnutrition and has directly supported the development of the strategy by providing expert advice.
The Neglected Crisis of Undernutrition: DFID's Strategy addresses the devastating impact of malnutrition on life-expectancy, health and long-term productivity, and will have a direct impact on the life chances of 12 million children by 2015.
The strategy sets out short term measures to directly address malnutrition including vitamin and mineral supplements for pregnant women; promotion of breastfeeding for babies; and providing vitamin A supplements to infants and young children, as well as using zinc to reduce the harmful effects of diarrhoea and promoting better hygiene and hand washing.
The new strategy also identifies longer term measures to tackle malnutrition. These include:
- funding research into causes and ways of reducing malnutrition;
- improving co-ordination of countries and organisations tackling malnutrition to ensure efforts are focussed and effective;
- increasing education for girls and empowering women - the main care providers in a child's first two years - to make decisions about food;
- supporting food and agriculture, as well as social protection programmes that increase families' access to a balanced, affordable diet;
- providing families with access to clean and safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene.
Related News
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Published: 12 Mar 2010
IDS Director, Lawrence Haddad, on why we must not be accomplices to the crime of child undernutrition
Related Resources
- The Neglected Crisis of Undernutrition: DFID's Strategy
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