ACF INTERNATIONAL NUTRITION SECURITY POLICY

Beyond the conceptual framework of undernutrition, used as a reference for many years in ACF policy and strategy documents, the Nutrition security policy has been developed to provide a comprehensive framework for mobilization and action of ACF and its partners in our fight against undernutrition. Its aims are: – To highlight the issues and challenges, and define concepts around nutrition security – To define the organization’s vision and positioning for a systematic nutrition security approach – To provide overall principles, ambitions and commitments at institutional, strategic and programmatic levels to apply this vision It forms the basis for a common multisectoral understanding of the global issue of undernutrition and how ACF commits to respond to it in a coherent, evidence based and holistic way. It does not replace but complements existing institutional documents, providing an overarching policy document for the organization’s fight against undernutrition.

ACF Nutrition Security approach

Nutrition security recognizes that nutritional status is dependent on a wide array of factors. As such, it constitutes a conceptual way for dealing with undernutrition problematic in a comprehensive way while exploring and using all possible avenues to prevent undernutrition and mitigate its consequences.

ACF’s nutrition security approach builds on the UNICEF nutrition conceptual framework. Aiming for a long term, sustainable and at scale impact on undernutrition, it calls for adopting a multisectoral approach and acting in an integrated, simultaneous way on all the causal context-specific factors leading to undernutrition. It also promotes multi-level response strategies, linking curative, preventive and longer term structural actions, acting jointly on existing undernutrition, immediate and underlying causes and mid to long term risks and structural factors.

It is based on a set of 12 core programmatic and institutional principles defined to maximize the organization’s impact on undernutrition.

12 Guiding principles

1. Embed nutrition security into policies, strategies and programmes
2. Promote and ensure coordination, coherence and synergies
3. Prioritize high burden areas and nutritionally at risk populations
4. Base programming on  multisectoral nutrition-sensitive analysis
5. Design holistic, integrated, at scale and long term response strategies
6. Aim for nutrition impact and enhance nutrition-sensitivity of interventions
7. Do no harm to nutrition
8. Apply a systematic gender analysis & mainstream women empowerment
9. Assess, document and be accountable for nutritional impact
10. Build and foster adequate skills and capacity
11. Align to local priorities and realities
12. Advocate for lasting changes in policies, practices and capacity

This policy document is supported by a toolkit that provides specific targets and practical guidance in order to translate the policy principles into action.