Phnom Penh: The Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) has launched the Mid-term and Strategic Review of the National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (NSFSN) 2014-2018. The process provides an opportunity to review progress and to reflect on how past and present issues and gaps can be addressed in the short, medium and longer term. The event gathered over 80 representatives from relevant government ministries, UN agencies, development partners, civil society and the private sector.

In his opening remarks, H.E. Yim Chhay Ly, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of CARD, said that the Royal Government of Cambodia places a high priority on food security and nutrition and considers this an important multi-sectoral issue for human resource development. “The Government acknowledges that food security and nutrition are individual fundamental rights in Cambodia society as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of which Cambodia is a signatory.”  He quoted the Prime Minister from the launch of the NSFSN in August 2014, “addressing food security and nutrition not only to responds to Government’s priority policies, but also to makes a crucial contribution to poverty alleviation, enhancement of livelihoods and health.” 

The review, he says, offers opportunities for key stakeholders from government, the development partners and civil society who are working on food security and nutrition to deal with the many challenges they face. The review also helps the Royal Government of Cambodia to determine priorities, to formulate new policies and to better design interventions for improving food security and nutrition. H.E. Yim Chhay Ly said through the Mid-term and Strategic Review, the Government will develop activity plans in the short term for completion of the existing strategy to 2018; in the medium term, a new NSFSN 2019-2023; and in the longer term, a roadmap towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal, or SDGs, for food security and nutrition by 2030. 

Ms. Debora Comini, Nations Resident Coordinator a.i., expressed her appreciation to the Royal Government of Cambodia for their commitment to improve the nutrition status of the Cambodia population. Ms. Comini stated that “we need to foster an enabling environment for the reduction of malnutrition, that includes creating political and policy momentum, and converting this momentum into action and impact.”

She gave assurance that the UN agencies involved will work together closely to support CARD in the Review and to tackle the ongoing challenges for dealing with stubborn ‘pockets of inequity’ where problems of undernutrition persist. She made a particular plea to all those working on the elimination of hunger to ensure that no one is left behind. Ms. Comini expressed the long-standing commitment of the UN to help Cambodia achieve national and international development goals, including now the SDG 2 on ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition. The UN agencies working collaboratively in support of the review include WFP, FAO, UNICEF, WHO and ILO. 

“Cambodia has indeed achieved significant improvement in key development indicators; yet malnutrition remains a concern that left unsolved will hinder Cambodia’s achievement of the sustainable development goals, including ending all forms of malnutrition,” she emphasized.

Ms. Polly Dunford, Mission Director, USAID Cambodia, speaking on behalf of the donor community in her role as Co-Facilitator of the Technical Working Group on Social Protection, and Food Security and Nutrition, stressed the donors’ commitment to the fight against malnutrition. She highlighted the focus of USAID on nutrition in partnership with the Royal Government of Cambodia. “Working together, we’re focusing our efforts on the first 1,000 days of Cambodian children’s lives and eliminating stunting.  Ultimately, we want our efforts to save lives, build resilience, increase economic productivity, and advance the country’s development.”

The NSFSN 2014-2018 aims that by 2018 all Cambodians will have substantially improved physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences and optimize the utilization of this food to keep a healthy and productive life.

The Mid-Term and Strategic Review will use the Food Security Framework to analyze each of the four dimensions of food security (availability, access, utilization and stability) and the comprehensive UNICEF conceptual framework of nutrition linking food security to adequate care, a healthy environment and provision of health services. The Review will examine the situation through the specific lenses of progress made in the past, understanding of the present situation and recommendations for future actions required.

The conduct of the Mid-Term and Strategic Review aligns with the strategic analysis required for other branches of Government, several UN agencies, donors and civil society agencies to set their development agenda for the medium term. In this way, the core processes of the Review will contribute to multiple parallel processes at the strategic level. FAO has supported the development of the original strategy and has joined with other UN agencies and the SUN Civil Society Alliance to contribute to the Mid-Term and Strategic Review.  The FAO contribution is made possible through the joint EU and FAO FIRST Program supporting CARD with policy and strategic processes and capacity building.

Mr. Iean Russell, Senior Policy Officer for FIRST in Cambodia outlined the importance of the Mid-term and Strategic Review of the NSFSN in providing an opportunity to sharpen the efforts to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition in Cambodia.  Working closely to support CARD and other development partners in this task, FAO can focus attention on key issues and emerging trends. FAO has ongoing work in Cambodia in areas of food safety, gender equality, social protection, rights to food and climate smart agriculture, in addition to commitments to the Zero Hunger Challenge and the SUN Movement.  All of these areas have direct bearing on the priority actions under the strategy. Nutrition is a focus for EU investments in the Fisheries and Education sectors in Cambodia, and FAO will work in partnership with the EU to add value to these investments through the direct contribution of the FIRST Senior Policy Officer and FIRST Programme activities promoting cross-sectoral dialogue, shaping policy making and strategic decisions.