Welcome to this module called Public Health Nutrition: Policy and Programming. By the time you reach this module, you will have already covered at least two other modules. Hopefully you will therefore be quite familiar with the process of distance learning.
Nutrition is improving for many people in the world, but for others, not nearly fast enough. At the International Conference on Nutrition in 1992, all governments endorsed the goal of the World Summit for Children of 1990, which called for halving the 1990 underweight prevalence by the year 2000. Failing to achieve this goal, countries reconfirmed their commitment towards ending poverty and hunger (as Goal number 1) by 2015 and declared the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Some countries have made significant progress whilst others are falling behind on all of the 8 MDGs. The experiences of the factors that led to improved nutrition in some countries and how it was achieved should be closely examined. If appropriate, their strategies should be applied to manage and make programmes more effective in countries where many children are still malnourished.
In most countries, there is no shortage of policies on nutrition and its related areas, but very few people are aware of all of them. The most critical issue is that implementing these policies requires training. The challenges are to build capacity at all levels, and to build a network of people who understand and internalize the link between poverty and malnutrition. Such people should be working in synergy, if not working together.
This module is designed to guide you through different countries’ experiences in nutrition programmes and policies. We will try and look critically at the various aspects of programming and the relationship between the success of programmes and related policies. In addition we will also examine the socio-political and technical factors that contribute to successful nutrition programmes.
There are two assignments for this module which you will find in section 3.3 of the Module Introduction. Read the assignments carefully and develop a workplan before going too much further. Remember that developing your assignment while you study is a very effective way to study actively. You will find a template for a work plan in section 4 of the Module Introduction. There is also and evaluation sheet at the end of the module. Please don’t forget to tell us how you experienced the Module and where it could be improved.
We hope that you find the module interesting, academically stimulating and above all useful in your work. Enjoy your studies!