NEPAL NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY PORTAL

The Government of Nepal (GoN), the National Planning Commission (NPC) organized a one-day provincial level orientation program on Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP) at Biratnagar, on 29 June 2022 (Asar 15, 2079) in close coordination with the Provincial Planning Commission of Province 1. The event was organized to sensitize elected representatives of provincial and local levels, and bureaucrats on the importance of nutrition and food security for enhanced human capital and overall socio-economic development. Advocacy for mainstreaming of MSNP into sub-national annual policies, plans, and budget, identification and optimum resource mobilization for implementing MSNP as per the annual policies, plans, and budget to address the malnutrition and food insecurity in Province 1 – was yet another focus area of the event. In addition, a program aimed to obtain suggestions and recommendations for the formulation of the next phase of MSNP.

The event was chaired by Honorable Dr. Uma Shankar Prasad, Member of NPC. Honorable Rajendra Kumar Rai, Chief Minister of Province 1 was the Chief Guest, and Honorable Dr. Purna Kumar Loksam, Vice-Chairperson, Provincial Planning Commission, Honorable Mr. Jayram Yadav, Health Minister, Ministry of Health, and Mr. Suman Dahal, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, Honorable Members of Provincial Assembly were Special Guests of the event. Similarly, members of the Provincial Planning Commission, members of the Provincial Nutrition and Food Security Steering Committee, government officials from federal and provincial ministries and departments, EDPs, local Civil Society Organizations, and the media participated in the event.

Ms. Sushila Kumari Panth, Planning Officer, NPC briefed on the objective of the event. She stated that the orientation has been organized to make Provincial Government, representatives of Local Governments, and relevant ministries and sectors aware of the food and nutrition situation of Province 1 and also advocate with these leaders and government officials to identify and mobilize optimum resources for effective implementation of MSNP.

Ms. Laxmi Ghimire, Program director, NPC made an introductory presentation about MSNP-II. Mr. Basanta Adhikari, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration presented about the implementation status of MSNP-II across Nepal. During his presentation, he briefly mentioned efforts made to address the malnutrition situation in Muktikot Rural Municipality of Bajura District and about the orientation conducted in Chitwan aiming to trigger and sensitive local government about the malnutrition issue among Chepang Community and discuss the potential solutions.  In his presentation, he reiterated the need to develop targeted interventions for marginalized groups rather than the blanket approach in days to come in days for better results and underscored the need to strengthen the monitoring and accountability mechanism at local levels.

Ms. Kalpana Pandey, Public Health Officer, Nutrition Section, Family Welfare Division presented about national nutrition scenario comparing it with the nutritional status of Province 1 on different nutrition-related indicators. Likewise, Mr. Jay Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Provincial Planning Commission presented about the implementation status of MSNP-II at Province 1, challenges encountered during implementation, opportunities, and the way forward.

Following the presentations, discussion on different topics presented was made and suggestions were received for effective implementation of MSNP and the formulation of MSNP-III. The discussion session was facilitated by Dr. Kiran Rupakheete, Joint Secretary, NPC. Thereafter, remarks from the Chief Guest, Special Guests, and Chair of the event followed through. In addition to government officials, the representative of the development partner Mr. Gyanu Bhujel, Nutrition Officer, UNICEF Nepal, and the representative of civil society ( relevant stakeholder) Mr. Bishwo Raman Neupane, Director of Suaahara Program (USAID-funded nutrition project) also shared their remarks and expressed their commitment to supporting GoN for effective implementation of MSNP.

Honorable Mr. Rajendra Kumar Rai, Chief Minister in his remarks committed to dedicating resources for MSNP in an incremental manner and flagged the need for devolution of more resources and authority to the subnational government under the federated context. He opined that a program to develop infrastructures, is not sufficient for human development, thus, priority should be provided to programs like MSNP, and more resources should be dedicated to such program that contributes to human development. He concluded his speech by expressing his gratitude to NPC for organizing such an important event on pertinent issues.

Honorable Dr. Uma Shankar Prasad, Member, NPC in his closing remarks reiterated the need to target the most disadvantaged groups and entailed the need to keep investing in the nutrition and food security programs continuously and in a concerted manner as behavioral change takes decades unlike the results of the physical development work. He echoed the thoughts of government officials and distinguished ministers in terms of strengthening the coordination and monitoring mechanism across all the sectors and at all levels of government. He concluded his remarks by expressing his deep gratitude to all involved, particularly the NPC and PPC for making the orientation program a great success.