Nutritional considerations in Norwegian development cooperation

• explains why the food and nutrition component has a natural place in development cooperation aimed at poverty reduction and human development
• provides updated information concerning events and operating parameters for such cooperation
• provides suggestions for how nutrition may be incorporated into NORAD’s activities up to 2005

Since many of these countries are in the process of developing national plans of action for nutrition, the working group regards it as appropriate to emphasise how Norway may help to support both the development and the practical implementation of such plans of action. The paper has identified a number of problems ahead in the plans of action for nutrition developed by NORADs partners:

• effective governance is essential if measures to combat poverty and improve nutrition are to result in actual improvements in strengthening institutional capacity. Many countries would benefit from development assistance. Countries should however be free to prepare their own plans, develop their own estimates and select their own indicators
• if a nutrition policy is to bring satisfactory results, it must be based on a mixture of good plans, clear targets, adequate budgets and efficient institutions and organisations. Moreover, it is essential that the resources allocated to implement such measures do not disappear due to corruption
• the local “problem owners” must be involved. Local people must be empowered to implement measures in their own communities, and provided with the necessary financial resources to do so
• essential factors in this system include openness, accountability, communication and the opportunity to complain to relevant authorities if corruption or similar occurrences hinder the achievement of results
• external aid should build up countries’ capacity to do their own work well and achieve their own objectives. It has been proposed (UNDP Human Poverty Report 2000) that funding for poverty reduction be deposited in funds to which national or local actors can apply for financing when good projects have been defined. Local expertise will then be built up during the process. It is highly likely that such a system may be transferable to projects aimed at improving nutrition