Author of submission
Magali Herranz, REU Programme Management and resource mobilization specialist
Title of your example
Assessment of School Food and Nutrition Programmes in Ukraine
Theme
School food and nutrition programs linked to the agricultural sector
Date, location and geographic scope of your example
Ukraine, national, 2017
Main responsible entity(ies) for the implementation of your example
The assessment has been prepared by FAO REU through a comprehensive consultation process with all relevant national authorities and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the current SFN Programmes in Ukraine (MoA, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Regional Development, National Food Agency, Research institutions and NGOs, among others)
Key objectives and implementation approach of your example
The main scope of the assessment was to identify the current status and needs of SFN Programmes in Ukraine, based on the analysis of eleven elements that would guarantee their sustainability (Elements of Sustainability), which were identified and applied in other FAO interventions on this area in Latino America and Caribbean, and that have been adapted to the context of Ukraine:
- Broad engagement of all stakeholders involved in the school feeding programme
- Intersectoral and interinstitutional articulation
- Financial capacity of governments that allows a long-term budget allocation
- Design of school feeding programme that is suitable to the reality and needs of each country
- Clear legal and regulatory frameworks that regulate the implementation, monitoring and social control of school feeding programmes
- Participation and social control
- Provision of adequate, healthy and culturally appropriate foods to all entitled students
- Promotion of education for food and nutrition security and for the development of healthy eating habits
- Adequate infrastructure and equipment for the storage, preparation and consumption of food in schools
- Linkage with local markets and producers, especially family farming
- Diagnosis, monitoring and evaluation systems
The above elements of Sustainability were identified by an Expert Forum on Sustainable School Feeding Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean that was carried out in the FAO-RLC in Santiago, Chile, with the objective to establish a reference for sustainable SFNP, and which had been organized under the Project Strengthening of School Feeding Programmes in the framework of the Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 Initiative - GCP/RLA/180/BRA. The Project, developed under the technical cooperation between the Government of Brazil, FAO-RLC and participating countries, aims at supporting the design and implementation of sustainable SFN policies and programmes in LAC, within a perspective of the human right to adequate food in schools.
Funding and technical assistance of your example
This assessment has been prepared under FAO project GCP/UKR/001/NOR, funded by Norway
Key stakeholders involved. Describe the cross-sectoral coordination mechanism of your example, if any
The assessment has been carried out in close coordination and cooperation with relevant central executive authorities, namely Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ministry of Education of Ukraine, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food through the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Regional Development and Construction. Some local educational authorities and other school community actors also provided valuable imputs fot the study.
However, some preliminary findings of the assessment indicate that there are not in place, at the moment, effective intersectoral mechanisms among school feeding and other government sectors, such as school health, nutrition, social protection and agriculture, which could provide a more comprehensive approach for school-age children in Ukraine. And, consequently, the inexistence of a common agenda related to SFN among the different stakeholders, expressed through a joint and articulated workplan to coordinate all efforts in synergy.
In that sense, some of the recommendations of the assessment will be to create or strengthen cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms through:
- The creation of an intersectoral coordinating body, with representatives of central and regional/local executive authorities, NGOs, academia and civil society. This could be a Food Security Committee or similar body through which SFN could be discussed and addressed. Such intersectoral body would be the overarching steering body that would guide high-level policy and strategic thinking with respect to all these issues related to school feeding.
- Strengthening of the coordination and mobilization of all institutions and stakeholders involved for a common agenda and for the follow up of all the efforts at central and local level.
How your example addresses food security and nutrition challenges. Describe linkages to social protection policies / school food programs / sustainable food systems
Despite the significant achievements over the last decades, many countries still face serious challenges related to food and nutrition security (FNS), the health of their population and to the environment and food systems.
Food insecurity and malnutrition, in all its forms, have multiple negative consequences, especially for children and adolescents. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 place nutrition at the heart of sustainable development and recognize that improving FNS and promoting sustainable food systems is essential to achieving SDG 2 "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture"; and, indirectly, the other goals.
Countries and stakeholders are called upon to develop and implement multi-sectoral strategies and concentrate efforts to improve the health, food and nutrition of people in a sustainable manner, through cross-cutting and coherent food, nutrition, agriculture and social policies, programs and plans that are well-coordinated among all at international, regional, national and community levels.
One such policy is school food and nutrition (SFN). School food and nutrition programmes (SFNP) have been recognized as important education and health public policies for the realization of FNS, the fulfillment of the human right to adequate food and as a strategy for sustainable and local development. They can also contribute, directly or indirectly, to many SDGs. In addition, in many countries of the world, these programs attract children to schools, contributing to the provision of quality basic education for all, to the fight against hunger and poverty and to reduce child mortality. They also have the potential to help in the prevention of malnutrition problems, particularly those directly or indirectly linked to eating habits.
However, the results under the framework of SFN will only be achieved and sustained if countries plan for the sustainability of their SFNP in the short, medium and/or long-term in order to develop a national Sustainable SFNP. Therefore, giving its reach, potential and benefits and its importance in the international and national agendas for contributing to the sustainable development, it is fundamental that countries plan for their sustainability.
In Ukraine, the Government has expressed its commitment to improving the health and nutrition of its population through its endorsement of the “Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015-202 (The Strategy). The action plan includes the government’s commitment to support the development of SFNP in the country. Measures and actions related to SFN are established in the Action Plan:
- Commission a feasibility study on possible healthy SNP;
- Design healthy SFNP and imbed it into and existing school feeding system. Develop implementation strategy;
- Implement a SFNP on a national scale.
In that sense, FAO/REU, with the support of Norway, are carrying out a project in support to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food in implementing the Strategy and, as part of the project, the study “Evaluation of School Food and Nutrition programs in Ukraine” has been undertaken, in close coordination and cooperation with relevant central executive authorities. The main objective of the study is to present an analysis of the current situation of the SFNP in Ukraine, including identification of main gaps and proposal of recommendations in order to strengthen these programs towards their sustainability. Through this study, FAO intends to contribute to the strengthening of the SFP in Ukraine, taking into consideration all the important elements that are fundamental for their sustainability. In the medium and long term, it is expected to contribute to the FNS and the health of citizens of Ukraine, as well as to their sustainable development.
What are the elements needed for the practice to be institutionally, socially, economically and environmentally resilient and/or sustainable?
Based on the findings identified under the ongoing FAO study in Ukraine, some of the key factors that are required in order to ensure a sustainable intervention on SFN in the country are:
1- Commitment and engagement from all authorities with competence in elaborating and implementing SFN Programmes, from the line relevant Ministries (Agriculture, Health, Education, Economy, Regional Development) to local authorities in the Oblasts (regions), which are getting most of the competencies based on the current decentralization process of the country.
2- Financial allocation from local budgets to SFN Programmes
3- Awareness raising among relevant stakeholders, from the Administration to school personnel, including also parents
4- Policy changes for reviewing the existing SFN Programmes and adapting them to the current context and needs
The impact of your example on national policies and people’s lives. What indicators have been used to measure it?
The assessment is still ongoing and the recommendations proposed for the strengthening of the SFN still have to be validated and, if that is the case, put in place by the country.
Nevertheless, it is important to say that this methodology of assessing the program according to the Elements of Sustainability have been used as a reference for the development and implementation of sustainable SFNP in the LAC region. And that this model has proven to be effective and successful in strengthening SFP towards their sustainability in the countries where it has been implemented.
The main achievements have been: a) institutionalization of SFNP through the development and approval of legal frameworks on SFN (school feeding laws), under the human rights approach; b) strengthening of intersectoral and interinstitutional mechanisms among the sectors/institutions/stakeholders involved with SFP, nutrition, agriculture, at national and local level; c) increased coverage of the programme; d) increased budget for school feeding; e) development of improved school menus; f) implementation of food and nutrition education in a continuous and cross-cutting manner and the implementation of educational school gardens; g) strengthening of community participation in the programme; h) improvement of school infrastructure for school feeding.
Key lessons (positive and negative) that can be learned from your example and how gaps, obstacles and any other adverse conditions were addressed
There is no much information this project can provide in this context, since this can be considered a very starting point of FAO work on SFN in Ukraine. However, one general observation has been the increased interest from the part of national authorities in this area since FAO started working on preparation of the assessment last year, with the Ministry of Agriculture taking the lead for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union in organizing a coordination meeting in the context of SFN with representatives of other line Ministries.
Having said that, there is a clear lack of coordination and communication among authorities and stakeholders involved, especially at national level, which is one of the elements which an eventual follow-up intervention should address. In addition, local procuremen is an element which needs a deeper review if an eventual follow-up action is taken in the future.
Sources and/ or additional background material
Below, there are some articles from the national media with Olena Kovalova (Deputy Minister from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food) saying that “The Ministry of Agriculture will engage small and medium farmers to the programme of school nutrition” . First three of those articles relate to one of the meetings between the Deputy Minister and FAO related to the ongoing activity under the Norway funded project.
http://www.minagro.gov.ua/node/24258
http://www.kray.ck.ua/suspilstvo/aktualno/item/17685-ratsion-dlya-shkolyara#.WfhUB2iCyUk
http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/printable_article?art_id=248873200
One of the statements from the Deputy Minister gives an overall understanding of the ministry’s position related to SFN: "We are studying the experience of the world in the functioning of school food systems, in particular in the part of models of food procurement, rationing, logistics, etc., in order to further implement effective state programs of integrated agrarian development and support of small and medium-sized producers”.
Ms. Magali Herranz