First global estimates of food insecurity among households with children

It is no secret that sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will not meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set for 2015 with specific reference to MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and MDG 2: Reduce child mortality.Many questions are raised around why food and nutrition security remain pressing problems in SSA, amid rapid economic growth that has eradicated many pockets of poverty and hunger. And yet a new health hazard now affects an alarming number of Africans - that of obesity and the accompanying rise of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. This leaves SSA with a twin challenge - a double burden - of malnutrition (undernutrition and obesity).There is a history of thought about food security over the decades: from the perspective of global food security, followed by the perspective that food production on its own does not assure food consumption. This leads to ‘the African famine’ where impetus was placed on action to alleviate hunger and its causes - the livelihood approach - followed by the concept of poverty eradication as an intervention to achieve food security.With the emphasis on interventions to achieve food security, many agriculture-driven projects arose based on the concept of increased bio-diversity (including African leafy vegetables), different farming practices and diversified production at community and household level. Education is regarded as more and more important and interventions aimed at nutrition and dietary strategies became the practice. Nutrition education changed from a nutrient-based diet towards a food-based approach. Despite all these novel initiatives, hunger did not disappear and malnutrition remains the single biggest contributor to child deaths in SSA.It becomes evident from a review of the literature that there are many shortcomings in the available data derived from nutrition research in SSA. There are many fragmentations, lack of an evidence base for prioritised action, evidence of institutional and other systemic problems affecting implementation and execution of policies, and a failure to link up developments across stakeholders in the field of nutrition. Furthermore, the local communities are seldom regarded as an important actor in nutrition-related priorities.Literature reviews of nutrition research conducted in Africa showed that evidence-based nutrition research from Africa is limited and focused mainly on treatment and technical solutions to the nutritional problems of the continent. It is important to take note of these as, by implication, one can draw the conclusion that real evidence-based research from Africa to guide African policy makers and to form the basis for Africa-specific interventions, is barely available. Well-designed and conducted intervention studies are essential to generate an evidence base for decision makers to identify effective policy options that are likely to impact on nutrition in Africa. In addition, there is an absence of cross-African linkages and a relative lack of African clusters driving the research.The recent SUNRAY (www.sunrayafrica.co.za) study presented at the World Public Health Nutrition Conference in Rio, 2012, reported results from key stakeholders in the nutrition arena of SSA. They were invited to appraise a set of research policy options, including ecological nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, evaluating community nutrition interventions, behavioral nutrition, therapeutic/clinical nutrition and molecular nutrition;, and to judge how well these would perform in improving nutritional status in Africa in the years to come. The striking results showed that there was little to no consensus between these stakeholders. Maybe this lack of consensus is an indication that all of these policies have a place and importance in actions to end poverty and hunger? In recent times, several possible solutions to ensure food security in SSA were proposed taking cognizance of the environmental challenges, political unrest, migration and rapid urbanization, and socio-economic dynamics of SSA. Although it seems that the nutrition research community is beginning to reflect on a holistic approach by considering the relation between these challenges and nutrition in Africa, it still lacks integration between different interest groups and stakeholders and remains a one-sided picture from the viewpoint of a single discipline or interest group. Research can only lead to sustainable nutrition interventions in food security and resilient livelihoods if links are strengthened and integration of knowledge is established between all stakeholders tasked with the eradication of poverty, hunger, and thus also a decline of child mortality.The progress Africa is making towards a quality future for our children through optimal nutrition is without any doubt too slow. To learn from the past is one thing. To change the status quo is another. There is, however, one very important fact: if we want to tackle hunger and malnutrition, it is essential to accept that it is everybody’s business and should be everybody’s priority. This involves the whole spectrum of role players in a country including political leaders, policy makers, service providers, religious leaders, academics, researchers, consumer organizations, NGO’s, industry, communities, every individual, and more.However, even if every individual in SSA accepts their responsibility towards food security practices, the sustainability of food security will still be at risk if it is not accompanied by an enabling environment provided by governments with the support of all stakeholders. In my opinion, there should be a political will to appoint an independent "driver" in each country who should facilitate a holistic approach through transdisciplinary teams including all stakeholders concerned with food security and the eradication of poverty.Instead of an argument about whom and what is important, it is necessary that all stakeholders meet around a table to work collaboratively towards solutions. There is an urgent need for good evidence-based information to guide holistic interventions towards the eradication of malnutrition, with a healthy SSA population as an essential outcome.References1- Ciati, R. & Ruini, L. 2012. Double pyramid: Healthy food for people and sustainable for the planet. (In Burlingame, B. & Dernini, S. eds. Sustainable diets and biodiversity. Directions and solutions for policy, research and action. 2010 Proceedings of the International Scientific Symposium. Biodiversity and sustainable diets united against hunger. FAO Headquaters, Rome. Rome, IT: FAO. P. 280-293).2- Devereux, S. & Maxwell, S. 2001. Food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press. Grant J. Aaron, Shelby E. Wilson and Kenneth H. Brown. 2010. Biographic analysis of scientific research on selected topics in public health nutrition in West Africa: Review of articles published from 1998 to 2008. Global Public Health, 5(S1):S42-S57.3- Hammond, R. A. & Dubé, L. 2012. A system science perspective and transdisciplinary models for food and nutrition security. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(31):12356-123634- Huffman, S.L. & Schofield D. 2013. Enhancing young child nutrition and development in developing countries. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 9 (Suppl. 1):6-11.5- Thompson, B., Cohen, M. J. & Tirado, M. C. 2012. Policies and programmes for improving nutrition. (In Thompson, B. & Cohen, M. J. eds. The impact of Climate change and bioenergy on nutrition. Dordrecht: Springer Science and Business Media. P. 77-78).6- Traoré, M., Thompson, B. & Thomas, G. 2012. Sustainable nutrition security. Restoring the bridge between agriculture and health. Rome, IT: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.7- Uusiku, N. P., Oelofse, A., Duodu, K. G., Bester, M. J. & Faber, M. 2010. Nutritional value of leafy vegetables of sub-Saharan Africa and their potential contribution to human health: A review. Journal of food composition and Analysis, 23(6):499-509.

(3 May 2017) The chief of UNICEF Innocenti’s social and economic policy unit, Jose Cuesta, has presented to some of the world’s leading poverty and social protection experts in Ghana on strengthening social protection programmes in the country. Jose Cuesta presented to officials from the Ghanaian government and World Bank as well as NGOs and UNICEF representatives as part of a joint World Bank and UNICEF Ghana seminar on strengthening social protection programmes in the country last month. The talk was delivered amid a Ghanaian government commitment to prioritise funds for social protection programmes dedicated to assisting the country’s poorest families as part of its 2017 budget.  UNICEF now encourages the Government of Ghana to take the next step of ensuring that delivery of social protection to Ghana’s poor is further supported through coordinated implementation with other essential services and interventions in order to achieve sustainable life-changing impact.One in four Ghanaians live in poverty, making the gap between the rich and poor now bigger than ever. As such social protection programmes - such as Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), School Feeding Programme (GSFP), and Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme - are more important today than ever before.A woman walking away from  a Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program enumeration and registration venue in GhanaThe LEAP programme provides cash and health insurance to extremely poor households across Ghana to alleviate short-term poverty and encourage long term human capital development. These programmes support vulnerable families to meet basic needs, access schooling and receive healthcare. They are also effective and efficient tools to reduce poverty and promote growth for Ghana. Evidence shows that when social protection is combined with quality education and health, the effects are even stronger. “Poverty reduction in the world is happening very fast but not enough to be ended by 2030 with current global growth unless we speed up the reduction of inequality,” said Jose Cuesta in a keynote titled the relevance of global evidence for poverty and inequality reduction in Ghana.“This is a key lesson that is relevant for Ghana. It is possible to reduce poverty and it is possible to grow, but it’s very difficult to do it inclusively. Promoting inclusive growth and protecting the poor in Ghana will require expanding the budget for LEAP and ensuring it benefits those truly in need and on time.” Peter Ragno, Social Protection Specialist at UNICEF Ghana advocated for continued investment in social protection programmes:  “The formal connections between LEAP and NHIS have provided poor households greater access to health services and improved their overall wellbeing. This success indicates there is a real opportunity to replicate the collaboration, joining LEAP and other sectors.”“For example, ensuring LEAP households are entitled to agriculture outreach services will increase household productivity, promote sustainable and resilient livelihoods, and generate positive impacts in the surrounding communities. Continuous investments in social protection, combined with new linkages to quality social services, will ensure long-term returns for the country as a whole.”For more information on the LEAP programme visit here. Watch the video on the LEAP programme 

OverviewSocial protection has significant positive impacts for poor and vulnerable children and their families. As governments seek to reach international targets on eliminating poverty, social protection is increasingly being adopted to reduce deprivation and improve the lives of children and families. Rigorous evidence is required to inform and strengthen the design, financing and sustainability of child-sensitive social protection systems. UNICEF Innocenti generates multi-country evidence on the impacts of social protection programmes, especially cash transfers and integrated programmes (cash-plus), on the wellbeing of children and families in development and humanitarian settings. Our research also examines the gender and shock responsiveness of social protection programmes; the role of design and implementation in the effectiveness of cash transfers and integrated programmes; and the political economy, financing and sustainability of statutory social protection systems.Goal To generate high-quality evidence that helps countries establish integrated, domestically financed, effective and statutory social protection systems.ApproachWe work in close collaboration with governments, UNICEF country offices, national and international research partners to generate multi-country evidence on the impacts of social cash transfers and the pathways of change through rigorous mixed-methods impact evaluations. We conduct political economy analysis of social protection systems and use micro and macro data to assess the affordability, financing and effectiveness of social protection policies and programmes. We provide technical assistance in the design and implementation of social protection programmes and build capacity on methodologies and impact evaluation for programme managers and researchers in low- and middle-income countries. To ensure high research uptake and policy impact, we regularly and closely engage with policymakers and key stakeholders. Research findings are widely disseminated through social media channels, websites, in-country dissemination workshops, seminars and presentations at international research conferences