Brief Description
The Nutrition Policy and advocacy is a subproject (nutrition sub-project), which is under the frame work of the Health & Nutrition cooperation programme 2006-2010, funded by UNICEF (belong to the Health & Nutrition Supports Project). In general, this sub project is to focus on providing supports to the MOH in development of national nutrition policies to improve the health and nutrition status of the population.
General Objectives:
- To develop and implement comprehensive policies and strategies relevant to the health and nutrition of children and mothers.
- To contribute to improve the quality and the availability of data on the nutrition situation of mothers and children.
- To surport the dissemination and systematic use of nutritional surveillance data to develop locally appropriate responses.
Specific Objectives:
- To develop and update the medium and long term strategies and action plans on nutrition.
- To improve the staff capacity at the national and sub-national levels to develop, use and disseminate advocacy tools for nutrition policies and investment.
- To strengthen and enforce the legislation on Universal Salt Iodisation, restrictions for the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.
- To promote incorporation the content of Infant and Young Child Feeding into the curriculum of medical schools.
- To mantain the network for assessing and addressing the nutrition situation of children and women in emergencies and for emergency preparedness.
Project implementation
- Initially implementing the IYCF Action Plan 2006-2010, Government Decree 163 on IS and National Code on Marketting of nutritious food products for young children.
- Developing a package of Nutrition Advocacy Tool.
- Revising the VAD & IDA intervention strategy for new implementation guidelines for the coming years.
- Training for capacity of local health workers on different fields: nutrition advocacy, IDD status and IS quality control, IYCF, vitamin A & de-worming...). Procurement of IDD equipment and IEC materials.
- Providing Vitamin A capsules for national supplementation programme.
- Providing the pilot on health and nutrition care intervention package to pre-pregnant and pregnant women in six districts.
- Carrying out the workshop & training on nutrition rapid assessment in emergency for responsible provincial staff of the provinces where is prone to drought and flood.