Mozambique achieves target for Millennium Development Goal 1
The National Food Security and Nutrition Secretariat (SETSAN) has announced that Mozambique has achieved Millennium Development Goal 1C to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. Mozambique was recognised for this achievement by the FAO and WFP at the 39th FAO Conference in Rome in June.
Data presented in the State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 report points to a reduction in chronic food insecurity in Mozambique from 61 percent in 1997 to 24 percent in 2013.
According to Mozambique’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Jose Pacheco, this achievement is a result of increasing food production, a reduction in annual food prices, an increase in household food reserves, the adoption of new farming technologies, and improvements in infrastructure, among other factors.
One of the key objectives of Irish Aid’s programme in Mozambique is to improve household food security and nutrition. To achieve this, we work closely with a number of key partners, including the government of Mozambique through SETSAN and provincial governments of Niassa and Inhambane, the International Potato Centre, Helen Keller International, Clinton Health Access Initiative and CARE International. Our approach aims to tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity and undernutrition and we work with all partners at district, provincial and national levels to institute a multisectoral approach. Ireland is co-chair of the high level donor group working on nutrition and aligns its work in this area closely with the Government of Mozambique’s Multisectoral Plan for the Reduction of Chronic Malnutrition.
Amongst other initiatives, we partner with Helen Keller International on the National Food Fortification Programme, which works to fill nutrient gaps in the daily diet of Mozambicans through the mass fortification of vegetable oil and wheat flour with key vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A, iron, folic acid, B-complex vitamins, and zinc. In particular, this programme targets children and women of reproductive age, aiming to reach approximately 12 million people with fortified vegetable oil and 9 million with fortified wheat flour. Part of our support also involves capacity building and the roll out of the national plan for the reduction of chronic malnutrition to provinces.
At provincial level Ireland’s support to food security and nutrition is in the form of technical assistance and nutrition-sensitive approaches in different sectors. In relation to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support is provided to the Directorates of Public Works in both Inhambane and Niassa. WASH is of particular importance for the success of the food security and nutrition programme in terms of ensuring availability of water for agricultural production, as well as in contributing towards the prevention of waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea and malaria which can contribute adversely to the nutritional status of Mozambicans. Ireland also works with the Departments of Health in both provinces with a strong focus on community health. We recognise that the capacity and availability of skilled health workers is crucial for the successful implementation of the national nutrition programme and will continue to work with the provinces in this regard.
In Niassa province, we work with the International Potato Centre (CIP) on a nutrition-specific project promoting the Vitamin A rich orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), which aims to use integrated approaches to deal with child malnutrition. In Inhambane, we work closely with the Directorate of Agriculture in improving productivity and food security of small holder farms particularly women, through the sustainable provision of appropriate technological inputs, the promotion of conservation agriculture and diversification, expansion and delivery of agricultural extension, and veterinary services.