From an anthropological perspective, understanding human evolution and cultural variation is crucial to compare the dietary habits of different cultures and develop a holistic understanding of dietary patterns related to environmental, social, cultural, economic and political factors
Modern living conditions have largely transformed our lifestyle, food choices and dietary patterns. In the present context, the ambitious goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030 poses a daunting challenge as the world is experiencing profound implications from the global pandemic, political instability, climate variability and economic contraction. In many low-income countries, governments are struggling to meet the growing challenge of delivering nutritious, safe and affordable diets for all.
The worrying scenario is evident as people living in rural areas do not have easy access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food all year round. Due to food insecurity and weak health systems, poor and socially marginalised communities in low-income countries will continue to suffer from malnutrition at scale. According to a joint FAO/IFAD/UNICEF/WFP/WHO report 2023, millions of children under five years of age continue to suffer from stunting, wasting and overweight.
However, globally, the prevalence of stunting among children under five years of age has been declining steadily, from an estimated 33 per cent in 2000 to 22.3 per cent in 2022. Similarly, the prevalence of wasting among children under five years of age declined from 8.7 per cent in 2000 to 6.8 per cent in 2022. The estimated number of children with wasting declined from 54.1 million in 2000 to 45.0 million in 2022.
In Nepal, there is notable progress in some nutrition indicators. According to Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2022, stunting and wasting among children of under five years of age are 15 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. Underweight is still 19 per cent. More importantly, there are remarkable variations in the nutrition indicators within and across provinces. It clearly shows that local governments need to increase their investments in health and nutrition in order to significantly reduce malnutrition.
In order to tackle all forms of malnutrition among children, adolescents and women, Nepal has adopted a multi-sectoral approach over time. The implementation of the Multi-sectoral Nutrition Plan (MSNP) has been instrumental in improving nutritional outcomes for mothers and children in the federal context. The MSNP primarily aims to strengthen nutrition governance by enhancing the capacity of local governments in participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions in the communities.
Under the leadership of the National Planning Commission, the MSNP is being implemented in close coordination with other sectors, such as agriculture, livestock, education, water and sanitation, health, urban development, federal affairs and general administration at all levels.
Local governments are committed to promoting health and nutrition of children, adolescents and women in particular who are relatively vulnerable in the remote areas. In their policies and strategic priorities, among many other sectors, they have allocated a few resources in the area of nutrition and food security. However, there are critical needs to empower the socially marginalised communities through communication, community education, training and social networking to ensure their easy access to nutrition services.
Despite the political commitment, the landscape of nutrition-friendly local governance is still in its early stage for several reasons. Firstly, there is no concrete implementation strategy and plan to reach out to the poor and socially-excluded populations. Secondly, existing efforts are minimal to enhance the capacity of local governments in implementation of nutrition sensitive interventions that require broader coordination and partnerships across sectors. Thirdly, community-based interventions are inadequate to mobilise and empower communities in accessing food and nutrition services.
To this end, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) has recently developed an implementation guideline to strengthen nutrition-friendly local governance. This offers ample opportunities for local governments to seek technical assistance from a range of partners for resource mobilisation and enhance their institutional capacity for effective implementation of strategic actions as envisaged in the MSNP. Moreover, this provides practical guidance for local governments in scaling up nutrition in the communities.
Additionally, a multi-disciplinary approach is required to examine the intricate relationship between human dietary habits and culture of the diverse communities. It is important to explore how diversity of food systems has shaped our social structures and culture over time. From an anthropological perspective, understanding human evolution and cultural variation is crucial to compare the dietary habits of different cultures and develop a holistic understanding of dietary patterns related to environmental, social, cultural, economic and political factors.
Considering the larger context of globalisation, urbanisation, climate change and migration, the anthropological analysis provides deeper insights to better understand how the dietary habits and food choices are influenced and shaped by cultural beliefs, values and practices within and across societies. Therefore, anthropological understanding and evidence of indigenous knowledge and practices of food systems will help identify the socio-cultural context of nutrition at large and associated barriers in everyday life of the communities. Undoubtedly, intersecting social inequalities in accessing food and nutrition services must be addressed in local nutrition policies and strategic priorities to promote health, nutrition and overall social well-being.
Bhandari is a health policy analyst
