Invitation to an open discussion
on the political outcome document of the ICN2
Comment Form
Personal information
Name: Andrea Sonntag
Organization: Welthungerhilfe e.V. (WHH)
Location: Bonn, Germany
Email: andrea.Sonntag@welthungerhilfe.de
1. General comments on the Draft of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition.
Welthungerhilfe welcomes the opportunity to comment on the second draft of the ICN2
Declaration on Nutrition.
We acknowledge that the second draft of the Rome Declaration is more concise and better
structured and makes reference to some of the aspects we have indicated as missing in the
first draft.
We appreciate the reference made to the Right to Food in the introductory paragraph of the
document. However, we recommend that the document as a whole should make stronger
reference to the existing human rights framework as part of binding international law and
the deriving obligation of states to respect, protect and fulfil the Human Right to adequate
Food.
Reference to gender based discrimination and the violation of women´s rights as key drivers
of malnutrition and the crucial role of women in food and nutrition security is still lacking.
More attention should also be paid to the role of education as another key aspect to end
malnutrition in all its forms.
The document makes only little reference to rural areas and does not mention at all the role
of small scale food producers although they represent the majority of the nutrition insecure
population and play a significant role as the main producers of food.
Finally, a commitment to clear targets and timeframes to end malnutrition in all its forms
and for accountability mechanisms to monitor this process is still missing.
2. Specific comments on the paragraphs related to the multiple threats that
malnutrition poses to sustainable development (paragraphs 4-10).
Para 5.
With regard to the “root causes of malnutrition” the analysis should also mention the lack of
access and control over resources, gender based discrimination and poor education as
causes.
3. Specific comments on the vision for global action to end all forms of
malnutrition (paragraphs 11-12).
Para 11 a)
It should be mentioned, that the elimination of malnutrition in all its forms is not only an
imperative for ethical, political, social and economic reasons, but a binding obligation of national
governments as set out in the legal frameworks on the Human Right to Food and the Human
Right to Health.
Para 11 b)
The empowerment of women is crucial to end malnutrition and should be included here.
Para 11 c)
The list of relevant sectors to ensure political coherence should include climate policies, too.
Delaying international agreements and preventing stronger commitments to stop climate change
leads to increasing nutrition insecurity and therefore implies a violation of the Right to Food.
Para 11 e)
We recommend referring more explicitly to the strengthening of the legislative and regulatory
framework in terms of preventing the marketing of unhealthy non nutritious food (HFSS foods)
as well as implementing the WHO recommendation on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.
Para 12 h)
With regard to sustainability reference should be made not only to its ecological but also to its
social dimension addressing the need to ensure social equity within food systems.
4. Specific comments in the appropriate fields relating to these commitments
(paragraph 13):
Commitment a): eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition, particularly to
eliminate stunting, wasting and overweight in children under 5 and anemia in women;
eliminating undernourishment and reversing rising trends in obesity;
Commitment b): reshape food systems through coherent implementation of public
policies and investment plans throughout food value chains to serve the health and
nutrition needs of the growing world population by providing access to safe, nutritious
and healthy foods in a sustainable and resilient way;
Public policies and investment should particularly provide support for small-scale food
producers allowing them for a sustainable production, processing and marketing of
diversified nutritious food.
Commitment c): take leadership to shape and manage food systems and improve
nutrition by strengthening institutional capacity, ensuring adequate resourcing and
coordinating effectively across sectors;
Commitment d): encourage and facilitate contributions by all stakeholders in society
and promote collaboration within and across countries, including North-South, SouthSouth and triangular cooperation;
Commitment e): enhance people’s nutrition, including people with special needs,
through policies and initiatives for healthy diets throughout the life course, starting
from the early stages of life, before and during pregnancy, promoting and supporting
adequate breast feeding and appropriate complementary feeding, healthy eating by
families, and at school during childhood;
Commitment f): adopt and implement a Framework for Action that should be used to
monitor progress in achieving targets and fulfilling commitments;
The Framework for Action should include clear targets, timeframes as well as
commitments on financial resources and define accountability mechanisms allowing for
meaningful participation of civil society actors, particularly of the segments of the
populations most affected by malnutrition.
Commitment g): integrate the objectives of the Framework for Action into the post2015 development agenda including a possible global goal on food security and
nutrition.
5. We would also appreciate your vision on policies, programmes and
investment that might help translate such commitments into action.