Global Forum on Implementation of Social Protection Programmes for Food Security and Nutrition: Towards Partnership for Development

Experts discuss social protection programmes for food security and nutrition

The Global Forum on the Implementation of Social Protection Programmes for Food Security and Nutrition: Towards Partnership for Development took place on 10-11 September 2015 in Moscow within the framework of Russia's BRICS Presidency.

The event was attended by representatives from 27 developing and developed states, including the BRICS countries, as well as 17 international and non-governmental organisations including the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN World Food Programme, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

A separate session was devoted to discussing the BRICS countries' practical experience in implementing social protection programmes for food security and nutrition in the context of the targets set in the declaration adopted at the Second International Conference on Nutrition.

The session adopted a document identifying the potential areas for cooperation among the BRICS countries.

At the forum, international experts established an interconnection between the problems of poverty, equal access to resources and insufficient nutrition. In addition, they analysed the advantages of including elements of social protection or nutrition into support programmes for vulnerable groups of the population.

Working panels on the primary tools and principles of social support programmes aimed at ensuring food security and nutrition considered concrete examples of resolving problems related to nutrition, health and education.

Participants from Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Cabo Verde, Congo, Mali, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Syria, Tanzania, the Philippines and Ethiopia shared their national experience in the successful implementation of social protection programmes for food security and nutrition. In particular, they addressed the specifics of implementing programmes to ensure the nutrition of children, pregnant and breast feeding women and support for household incomes, including through community service and financial assistance.