Nutritionists from the World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger project team in Brazil participated in the National Nutrition Conference, held on May 5. Albaneide Peixinho and Eliene Sousa, who are part of the Nurture the Future project team, together with managers, workers and users of the Brazilian public health service (SUS in Portuguese), participated in discussions and supported the formulation of proposals for the consolidation and strengthening of food and nutrition.
Issues such as hunger and food insecurity, access to nutritional care at all levels of health care, the impact of the global syndemic (malnutrition, obesity, nutritional deficiencies and consequences of climate change) on people’s lives were widely discussed. The program also highlighted the issues of financing food and nutrition policies, which presents a challenge for all countries.
As a result of the Conference, propositions such as the guarantee of the right and access to nutrition and health care, the strengthening of food and nutritional surveillance, the strengthening of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population and the Food Guide for children under two years of age were identified as priorities to be observed, especially by the government. “The Centre of Excellence, in addition to participating in these discussions, supports countries in developing capacities for the implementation of public food and nutrition policies through the Nurture the Future Project,” said Eliene Sousa.
The project aims to support processes to strengthen national public institutions and the nutrition and health sectors considered fundamental for the management of public food and nutrition policies in countries. Specifically, the project aims to foster the exchange of experiences on the multiple burden of malnutrition in Brazil with other developing countries and to strengthen multilateral actions within the framework of the Decade of Action for Nutrition of the United Nations (UN) and Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3.
The South-South Cooperation initiative is based on the exchange of experiences between Brazil, Colombia and Peru and is carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC, in Portuguese). Learn more here.
About the Conference – The National Free Conference on Nutrition is a preparatory meeting for the 17th National Health Conference. Conferences are important spaces for participation and social control of Brazilian society and are responsible for shaping important public policies. The Brazilian national health system (SUS), for example, was created at one of these conferences. Watch the full National Nutrition Free Conference here.