TANZANIA has been urged to use the Fill the Nutrient Gap (FNG) analysis so as to bring stakeholders together to identify and prioritise specific policies and programmes across different sectors aimed at improving nutrition among target groups across the lifecycle.
FNG helps to analyse nutrition situation in a country and identifies the barriers faced by the most vulnerable to accessing and consuming healthy and nutritious foods.
The United Nation Secretary-General Coordinator of the Scaling up Nutrition Sun Movement, Ms Afshan Khan told the `Daily News’ recently that FNG analysis would help in social protection, food system, health, agriculture, education and other sectors as they will be able to contribute in improving nutrition.
“The analysis is carried out in collaboration with a range of national stakeholders and its results are used to inform policies and programming in social protection, food systems, health, agriculture, education and other sectors that can contribute to improving nutrition,” Ms Khan explained.
She said Tanzania is an example as it has strong policies, mechanisms and systems on nutrition that can be used in improving and implementing all government plans in nutrition.
Ms Khan said it was important that national stakeholders and champions had access to evidence, data and advocacy tools for further advancement and integration of nutrition so that past gains are not lost and nutrition remains a national priority.
She further said Zambia is an example in FNG analysis which has helped to identify and analyse entry points for interventions within the scope of the ongoing Most Critical Days Programme (MCDP II) and to support expansion or implementation of those programmes with evidence-based advocacy messages.
The Director of Policy and Coordination in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs and Coordination), Mr Paul Sangawe said nutrition is a priority of the nation.
He said networking with other countries will help to address challenges on nutrition as well as learn and change experience.
Mr Sangawe said Tanzania is in need of support from development partners, the private sectors and financial institutes which will help to mobilise resources for implementing nutritional plans of the government.
Speaking on performance metrics, he said through it is going to be used to attract donors to give money to nutritional area.
“Through performance metrics we will be able to show what Tanzania can deliver in five years to come in nutrition area…attract more and convince donors,” he explained.
Commenting on nutrition being a priority he said; “it is important to know which areas are meaningful to engage with other countries so we can develop more partnership for financing.”
