THE DEBATE ON NUTRITION

In South Asia, underinvestment in women’s health and education and poor social empowerment is one of the main factors contributing to the poor nutritional status of children.  Economic growth and increases in household income address only part of the problem.  Therefore, today, efforts to scale up nutrition-specific interventions, make a greater push towards enhancing social equity, increasing investments in multisectoral actions to improve nutrition, all with a focus on the critical 1000-day window of opportunity are needed in the region, said Purnima Menon, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI  in UNICEF’s Debate on Nutrition.

Experts from across the globe participated in the debate, including:

• David Nabarro - The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition.
• Lawrence Haddad (IDS) - distinguished economist, researcher and policy advisor, and Director of IDS
• Purnima Menon (IFPRI) - Nutrition researcher, conducting on applied research on nutrition programs and policies in Asia
• Andrew Tomkins - Emeritus Professor of International Child Health and biological scientist
• Anna Lartey (Ghana, GAIN) -nutrition and food science expert, Ghanian with strong perspective of communities and people