ASEAN Prepares Roadmap Of Priority Action On Nutrition

By Minggu Simon Lhasa BANGKOK, July 22 (Bernama) -- ASEAN member countries have begun a two-day consultation in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to finalise a road map of priority action for the implementation of a nutrition component for food security. The aim of the consultation was to firmly integrate nutrition into the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS) said FAO in a statement. FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has been assisting ASEAN with development and implementation of its AIFS and SPA-FS 2015-2020. “Nutrition is an important element in ensuring food security,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO assistant director-general and regional representative. "This provides the basis for ASEAN to take a long-term, integrated and sustainable food system approach that will guide future actions on food security and nutrition.” In opening remarks, Konuma pointed out that all 10 ASEAN countries had achieved the Millennium Development Goal to reduce the proportion of hunger by half by 2015, with an average rate of 9.6 per cent, which was far lower than the regional average of 12 per cent, and was a prime mover of Asia’s success. Recent data indicates that almost all countries in South East Asia have a high incidence of anaemia among pregnant women and children. Among pregnant women, the incidence ranges from 24 per cent to 52 per cent in some countries. Prevalence of anaemia among children below the age of five ranges from 18 per cent to 55 per cent in some countries. Some of the key micronutrients typically deficient in the region are iron, Vitamin A and iodine. -- BERNAMA