Nutrition et communication: de l'éducation nutritionnelle conventionnelle à la communication sociale en nutrition
M. Andrien et I. Beghin. 1993. L'Harmattan, Paris. 157 pages. ISBN 2-7384-1919-4. Prix: 80 FF.
Cet ouvrage s'adresse aux responsables de l'éducation nutritionnelle dans les pays en développement. Ecrit par le professeur Ivan Beghin, de l'Institut de médecine tropicale d'Anvers et par Michel Andrien, chercheur en éducation pour la santé à l'Université de Liège et fondateur du RENA (Réseau pour l'éducation nutritionnelle en Afrique), il représente le résultat d'une recherche menée depuis 10 ans sur l'éducation nutritionnelle dans les pays en développement. Il propose une réflexion en profondeur sur les aspects théoriques de l'éducation nutritionnelle conventionnelle - concept, stratégie et méthodologie - et critique vivement cette approche classique qui, sans apporter de résultats durables, a lassé la population et les intervenants.
Les auteurs exposent ensuite une approche de l'éducation nutritionnelle basée sur des expériences de coopération menées dans plusieurs pays en développement. Selon eux, les éléments clés à prendre en compte sont une meilleure compréhension des causes et des mécanismes de la malnutrition, des déterminants de la conduite humaine ainsi que des processus de communication, et une expérience accrue en pédagogie descendante et ascendante.
Un chapitre est consacré au cadre conceptuel et détaille les principes d'action et l'approche causale en éducation nutritionnelle. La planification des interventions d'éducation nutritionnelle fait l'objet d'un autre chapitre. (Il ne couvre pas les aspects techniques de la communication ou de la nutrition, ceux-ci étant traités dans d'autres ouvrages, notamment dans le Guide méthodologique des interventions dans la communication sociale en nutrition publié en 1993 par la FAO, en collaboration avec M. Andrien.)
Enfin, la légitimité de l'éducation nutritionnelle et ses implications pratiques sont discutées. Les auteurs critiquent leur propre approche, car elle est encore partiellement théorique et ne peut donc répondre à toutes les questions. Ils soulignent l'ampleur du besoin de recherche appliquée dans le domaine de l'éducation nutritionnelle, notamment à travers l'évaluation systématique des projets. La conclusion reprend les conditions essentielles pour que l'éducation nutritionnelle ait des effets positifs, à savoir qu'elle soit «globale, participative et libératrice» et fondée sur l'analyse causale et l'étude préalable des mécanismes de communication sociale.
Malgré une réflexion parfois trop théorique et un style très universitaire, cet ouvrage est d'une lecture aisée, car il est concis et répond à des préoccupations très réelles des professionnels concernés par l'éducation nutritionnelle. La qualité de l'ouvrage fait qu'il mériterait d'être traduit en anglais afin d'être plus largement diffusé.
Béatrice Sénémaud
Nutritionniste.
Service des programmes nutritionnels
Notes from the field in communication for child survival
R. Seidel, ed. 1993. Washington, DC, Academy for Educational Development. 246 pp. ISBN 0-89492-102-9. Price US$ 15. Free of charge to developing countries.
This collection of notes or articles describes a wide array of experiences in social marketing to improve child survival in developing countries. To illustrate their philosophy and techniques, health communication specialists discuss a particular aspect of a field project (all conducted under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development) carried out in a rural or urban setting in Latin America, Asia or Africa during a 15-year period. Each story of a health communication project is a straightforward account of how work was conducted, the degree to which objectives were met and the difficulties and conflicts encountered.
Practitioners of social marketing recommend a sequence of activities for implementing health communication strategies, and the material in this book is organized according to this framework. Occasionally, the authors do not fully adhere to this structure, and similar points are repeated in different sections; however, these reiterations do not lessen the book's lively style and may strengthen its usefulness for teaching.
The communication strategies are developed on the basis of the target audience's perspective. For planning of appropriate educational messages, research using qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain practical information about the clients' beliefs and habits is strongly advocated. The use of surveys and focus groups to elicit information about local health perceptions and practices is explained.
Experiences in selecting media for specific audiences and society at large and in designing and pre-testing materials are discussed extensively, and useful illustrations are provided. The descriptions of processes of collaboration among communication specialists and artists, health experts and community members to promote participation in health interventions are especially insightful. Many projects attempted to combine government resources with those of private businesses and non-governmental organizations. The authors' comments about these efforts are particularly interesting.
The authors express great sensitivity to the prices (financial and otherwise) paid by clients, volunteers and agency staff who participate in health promotion activities. They show how individuals were motivated and trained to use mass media and to improve the quality of face-to-face interactions. The need to establish interdisciplinary local teams and realistic goals and procedures is stressed to ensure successful implementation over the long term.
Notes from the field in communication for child survival assumes that the reader is familiar with social marketing techniques. Readers who are new to this field would benefit from a companion book published by the Academy for Educational Development in 1988, Communication for child survival. This earlier book provides a more systematic explanation of how public health communication methods evolved, the steps to consider in planning a communication strategy and the processes and skills that are required. It is also very well written and contains attractive illustrations and a bibliography.
Both books focus on projects to promote child survival interventions such as oral rehydration solutions, immunizations and breast-feeding. However, the methods used and lessons learned may be applicable to other types of health interventions and development activities. Each book is a rich source of ideas in the fields of nutrition education and communication in developing countries. Nutritionists, educators, social scientists and communication specialists, especially those involved in training public health workers and agricultural extension workers, will find these books stimulating and useful.
Janice Albert
Nutrition Officer.
Food Policy and Nutrition Division
Nutrition for developing countries - Second edition
F.S. King and A. Burgess. 1993. New York, Oxford University Press. 461 pp. Paperback, ISBN 0-19-262233-1, Price £19.50. Hardback, ISBN 0-19-262279-X, Price £45. ELBS edition, ISBN 0-19-442446-4, Price £3.95 for developing countries.
Nutrition for developing countries is both a textbook of nutrition and a practical guide for all nutrition workers. The authors have provided a very rich and comprehensive source of information, combining fundamental concepts on nutrition and food science together with very practical, up-to-date concepts that nutrition workers need to know. The scope of the book is wide; it contains chapters on, among others, the following topics: nutrients and how the body uses them; foods and food processing; the cost of meals and budgeting; breast-feeding; feeding older children and adults; growth and development; using a growth chart to help families; under-nutrition in children and women; vitamin and mineral deficiencies; over-nutrition and related disorders; the food paths; nutrition and the environment; food security; working with communities and families; group feeding programmes; nutrition in schools; and training for nutrition.
All of the chapters are presented very clearly, and the manual is well illustrated with self-explanatory figures. The book is structured to facilitate the reader's understanding of the concepts. For example, each chapter ends with a section called "things to do" which provides good practical examples and clearly explains actions to take. Lists of useful publications are also provided.
The authors hope that unlike the first edition of this book, which dealt with Africa only, this text will be of use to all developing countries. However, all the examples in the new edition do come from Africa. There is some bias in that the exercises under "things to do" are adapted for East Africa and have an English orientation. Some generalizations are inappropriate; for example, descriptions about consumption of fruits by pregnant and lactating women or the relationship between population issues and land fragmentation are relevant to particular segments of the population but not to all cultures. However, these criticisms are very minor in comparison with the overall quality of this book.
As a manual. Nutrition for developing countries is very user-friendly. In conclusion, this excellent book gives a simple approach to nutrition in a professional and serious manner. It is highly recommended.
Simon Chevassus-Agnés
Nutrition Officer.
Nutrition Planning, Assessment and Evaluation Service
Household food security: concepts and definitions: an annotated bibliography
M. Smith, J. Pointing, S. Maxwell et al. 1993. Brighton, UK, Institute of Development Studies. 65 pp. ISBN 1-85864-005-9.
In the wake of the International Conference on Nutrition, this annotated bibliography, which contains nearly 200 items related to the development of the concept of household food security, is relevant and timely. Both the World Declaration on Nutrition and the Plan of Action for Nutrition emphasize the need to promote and support household food security as a basic condition for eradicating hunger and achieving adequate nutrition.
Actually, the title can be somewhat misleading since several references do not deal with household food security per se. Although the concept of food security was discussed as early as the 1970s (and became part of the development agenda at the World Food Council Conference of 1974), the bulk of the literature on household food security dates from the 1980s. In the publications listed, household food security has been considered in relation to a variety of issues, including nutrition, gender, environment, structural adjustment, food aid and wider concerns of human rights and cultural dignity.
This bibliography confirms that there is no single definition of household food security but a "rather complex weave of inter-related strands" which are adjusted to suit individual needs and priorities. As the authors themselves point out, clarification of the conceptual framework of household food security is essential before policy can be broached.
The presentation is clear and the alphabetized references are easy to consult. Each bibliographic entry is accompanied by descriptive terms that epitomize the publication's definition of household food security. This is followed with verbatim quotations on the concepts and definitions related to food security referred to in the publication.
Development institutions interested in concrete applications of the concept of household food security in their area or field of expertise will probably want to use this bibliography for more global purposes; they may have preferred indications of content related to particular countries, regions or topics rather than the descriptive terms that are given. Abstracts of the contents would certainly have been useful, since many interested readers may lack easy access to other sources of abstracts. In addition, one regrets the absence of a list of acronyms, which would have helped the reader recognize the titles of the articles or the names of institutions.
In spite of these omissions, Household food security: concepts and definitions: an annotated bibliography is certainly an essential reference for all those who are concerned with household food security.
Florence Egal
Nutrition Officer,
Nutrition Programmes Service
Urban food insecurity and malnutrition in developing countries: trends, policies and research implications
J. von Braun, J. McComb, B.K. Fred-Mensah and R. Pandya-Lorch. 1993. Washington, DC, International Food Policy Research Institute. 47 pp. ISBN 0-89629-326-2.
This report reviews and takes stock of the food and nutrition policy implications of urbanization in the developing world, and the authors arrive at policy and research implications for urban food security. They compare urbanization processes in regions and countries in the developing world, relate urbanization and urban population growth to economic growth, link urban poverty and malnutrition and explore the relationship between health and sanitation and children's nutritional status. Available studies on food consumption and dietary patterns in urban and rural areas are reviewed, gaps in knowledge identified and areas for further research suggested. The following sets of policies to improve urban food security and nutrition are analysed and rationalized: macroeconomic policies and market development; food subsidies and targeted food transfers; supplementary feeding programmes; health, sanitation and food safety policies; community development and urban agriculture; and access to credit and savings opportunities. The report argues for a household and intrahousehold focus to improve understanding of urban food security and nutrition problems and takes note of the considerable diversity and dynamics of households in urban settings.
An area that could have been given more attention in this report is urban-rural interactions and linkages (for example, regarding food entitlement, migration and food consumption patterns). Urban food patterns and requirements determine to a large extent food import and agriculture policies. Care issues should also have been discussed further: migration to urban areas implies major socio-cultural changes and often a disruption of traditional solidarity networks. Mothers often have to work away from home, to the detriment of child care. The availability of a wide range of consumer goods combined with social pressure for "prestige" non-food expenditures may lead parents to sacrifice expenditures on essential foods (in particular micronutrient-rich foods). Scarcity of fuel and water can also influence food selection, preparation and distribution. The chapter on policies and programmes could have discussed further the potential role of food aid as a stimulus to community nutrition projects (as with popular kitchens in Peru), the role of consumer education and the need to involve the food industry in efforts to supply more appropriate foods.
This special report will be a useful reference for national-and international-level policy-makers, researchers and development institutions.
Florence Egal
Nutrition Officer.
Nutrition Programmes Service
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS
Food, Nutrition and Agriculture reflects the concerns of the Food Policy and Nutrition Division of FAO, covering topics such as nutrition planning, assessment and evaluation; nutrition programmes; and food quality and safety. The review welcomes articles of interest to its readers working in government institutions, universities, research centres, non-governmental organizations, the food industry and the communications media in 168 countries.
Articles may be written in English, French or Spanish. The style should be dear, concise and easy to understand, avoiding journalistic terms, colloquial expressions and professional jargon. Articles may be 2 500 to 5 000 words in length, with not more than about six tables and fewer than 35 references. Complete references must be provided when factual material and other viewpoints are mentioned. References require author name(s), date, title, place of publication and publisher (for books), journal title, volume and pages (for articles).
A summary of approximately 350 words and biographical information (35 words or less) about the author(s) should accompany the article. The article will be published in the original language and FAO will translate the summary into the other two languages of the review. Manuscripts must be typed and double spaced. When possible, provision of a word-processing diskette is appreciated. Tables, graphics and photographs should be provided on separate sheets with a title and number indicating their place in the text.
Manuscripts are reviewed by the Food Policy and Nutrition Division, and the decision to publish an article is made by the Editorial Advisory Board. Copyrights and other ownership rights are vested in the Food and Agriculture Organization, which usually grants permission to the author to reproduce the article. Authors should clearly state whether material included in a manuscript has been copyrighted elsewhere and certify that they have permission to use the material. When printed, up to 25 copies of the issue containing the article will be sent to the author free of charge.
Correspondence and manuscripts should be addressed to: Technical Editor, Food, Nutrition and Agriculture, Food Policy and Nutrition Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
PRINCIPES À L'USAGE DES AUTEURS
Alimentation, nutrition et agriculture traite de domaines dans lesquels s'exercent les activités de la Division des politiques alimentaires et de la nutrition de la FAO - planification, évaluation nutritionnelle, programmes nutritionnels, qualité et innocuité des aliments. La revue accueille avec intérêt des articles pouvant intéresser ses lecteurs, qui travaillent dans les institutions gouvernementales, les universités et les centres de recherche, les organisations non gouvernementales, l'industrie alimentaire et les médias de 168 pays.
Les articles peuvent être écrits en français, en anglais ou en espagnol. Ils doivent être rédigés dans un style clair et concis, faciles à comprendre, éviter les termes journalistiques, les expressions familières et le jargon professionnel. Ils doivent avoir une longueur de 2500 à 5000 mots, plus un nombre raisonnable de tableaux et de références (pas plus de 6 et moins de 35 respectivement). Des notes complètes doivent être ajoutées si des références factuelles et d'autres points de vue sont mentionnés. Lorsque des ouvrages sont cités, il faut indiquer le nom du ou des auteurs, la date, le titre complet, l'éditeur et le lieu de publication. Pour les articles cités, donner le nom du ou des auteurs, la date, le titre de l'article, le titre complet de la publication, le volume et les pages.
Un résumé d'environ 350 mots et une notice biographique de 35 mots au maximum doivent accompagner l'article. Il sera publié dans la langue originale, et la FAO traduira le résumé dans les deux autres langues de la revue. Les manuscrits doivent être dactylographiés en double interligne. Dans la mesure du possible, les auteurs sont priés de fournir une disquette. Les tableaux, graphiques et photographies doivent être fournis sur des feuilles séparées, porter un titre et être numérotés de façon à pouvoir les insérer dans le texte.
Les manuscrits sont examinés par la Division des politiques alimentaires et de la nutrition, et la décision de les publier est prise par le comité de rédaction. Les droits d'auteur et autres droits relatifs au manuscrit sont dévolus à l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture, qui autorise habituellement l'auteur à reproduire son article. L'auteur doit indiquer clairement les parties du manuscrit qui font déjà l'objet de droits d'auteur ou autres droits de propriété et certifier qu'il est autorisé à les utiliser. Lorsque l'article est publié, 25 exemplaires au maximum du numéro en question sont envoyés gratuitement à l'auteur.
La correspondance et les manuscrits sont à adresser au Rédacteur technique, Alimentation, nutrition et agriculture. Division des politiques alimentaires et de la nutrition, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome (Italie).
ORIENTACIONES PARA LOS AUTORES
La revista Alimentación, Nutrición y Agricultura trata temas de interés para la Dirección de Política Alimentaria y Nutrición de la FAO, incluyendo actividades de planificación, apreciación y evaluación relacionadas con la nutrición, programas de nutrición, y calidad e inocuidad de los alimentos. La revista acepta artículos de interés para sus lectores que trabajan en instituciones gubernamentales, universidades y centros de investigación, organizaciones no gubernamentales, así como en la industria alimentaria y en los medios de comunicación de 168 países.
Los manuscritos podrán ser redactados en español, francés o inglés. El estilo deberá ser claro, conciso y fácil de entender, evitando términos periodísticos, expresiones coloquiales y jergas profesionales. Los artículos podrán tener de 2 500 a 5 000 palabras y se recomienda un máximo de seis cuadros y 35 referencias. Deberán facilitarse referencias completas cuando se den datos objetivos o se citen puntos de vista de otros autores; en el caso de libros, se deberá indicar el apellido y la inicial del nombre del autor o autores, el año de publicación, el título completo, el lugar de publicación y la editorial. En el caso de artículos: autor(es), año, título del artículo, título completo de la publicación, volumen y número de las páginas.
El artículo irá acompañado de un resumen de 350 palabras aproximadamente y de una nota biográfica (que no exceda de 35 palabras) sobre el autor. Se publicará en el idioma original y la FAO traducirá el resumen a los otros dos idiomas de la revista. Los manuscritos deberán estar mecanografiados a doble espacio. Se agradecerá el en vio, siempre que sea posible, de un disquete que contenga el artículo. Los cuadros, gráficos y fotografías deberán presentarse en hojas aparte, con un título y número, e indicando su lugar en el texto.
Los manuscritos serán revisados por la Dirección de Política Alimentaria y Nutrición de la FAO y la decisión concerniente a su publicación la tomará el Comité asesor editorial. Los derechos de propiedad y otros derechos de autor corresponderán a la FAO, que suele conceder permiso al autor para reproducir su artículo. Los autores deberán indicar claramente qué material del manuscrito tiene ya derechos de autor concedidos y certificar que han obtenido el permiso para utilizarlo. Una vez publicado el artículo, se enviarán gratuitamente al autor 25 ejemplares del número de la revista que lo contiene.
La correspondencia y ¡os manuscritos deberán dirigirse a: Redactor técnico, Alimentación, Nutrición y Agricultura, Dirección de Política Alimentaria y Nutrición, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Roma, Italia.
FOOD POLICY AND NUTRITION DIVISION
DIVISION DES POLITIQUES ALIMENTAIRES ET DE LA NUTRITION
DIRECCION DE POLITICA ALIMENTARIA Y NUTRICION
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