China: Improving nutrition and food safety for China's most vulnerable women and children

Reduce Child Mortality

JOINT PROGRAMME QUICK FACTS

Total Budget $6,000,000

Delivery Rate

Participating Agencies WFP, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, UNIDO

Main Achievements

• Baseline survey conducted in 6 counties on under-nutrition and food insecurity to support the development of policies and action plans. Majority of children under 2 in rural areas supplied with micronutrient packages to reduce under-5 mortality rate. National food fortification action plan developed and breastfeeding promoted.
• Knowledge of food safety among women and children enhanced. New practices to improve food safety being applied in child food manufacturing enterprises in pilot sites.
• Awareness of maternal and child under-nutrition and food insecurity raised through establishment of website on Food Safety Law and training of local journalists.

Contact Doctor Ding, Baoguo, JP Coordinator
dingb@wpro.who.int

China’s impressive progress on reducing hunger has relied mainly on increasing incomes and food production. As rural/urban disparities in income and nutrition widen to globally unprecedented levels, it will require a more targeted approach to reach the 123 million people still undernourished, including 7 million stunted children.

Inadequate feeding practices and poor food safety compromise the gains made to date in child health and nutrition. The programme will: improve evidence on undernutrition in China for targeting and policy making; promote safe and healthy feeding practices, including exclusive breastfeeding and locally-appropriate complementary food; and improve food safety. It will target 1.2 million children and women in 6 of the poorest counties with demonstration projects as a basis for scaling-up to national policy. It will use the UN’s partnerships in poverty alleviation, agriculture, health, nutrition and education to bring international expertise to the fore.