Public health nutrition

Reports, meetings and other material

Pick of the crop Catalogue of Institutions with Expertise in Food Assistance From the UN's World Food Program, this catalogue has information about a huge list of organisations that work in food security, categorised as government, NGO etc. The information provided is a brief description and some contact details. At present, for many organisations this is mainly address and phone, with relatively few email addresses and no web sites. (No doubt email address details will increase as more become Internet connected). A little more bothersome is the fact that many of the titles used in the index are too ambiguous, particularly lacking country description, to be very helpful in browsing. UN Sub-committee on Nutrition: links Particularly strong on international agencies and NGOs.

Hunger and Poverty Links (WHY)

Unannotated list. WHY is an American NGO devoted to this issue.

Hunger and Poverty links (Australia)

List based in Australia, but has international perspective as well. Some link descriptions.

Meta-Index for Non-Profit Organizations

List of lists of NGOs

Interaction: List of member organisations

Web sites for 159 organisations working with volunteers in international aid. "InterAction is the nation's largest coalition of relief, development and refugee agencies."

World Bank publications: search engine

Returns citation and ordering details, plus a short summary.

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Food security: organisations

Action contre la Faim

NGO from France very prominent in food relief. Their web site has information on its activities.

Bread for the World

"a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers". Their web site has updates on their political activity, as well as some basic information on world hunger. The focus of this material appear to be more on US hunger issues, although international links are also provided.

The Center for Communications, Health and Environment

A "private, nonprofit American institution based in Washington, DC, created to address the environmental and health challenges that confront developing nations."

Centre for World Food Studies (Holland)

Research institute which provides support to (inter-)national policy formulation in the areas of agriculture, food supply and poverty reduction. Web site has organisational information, some abstracts of publications and links.

Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization

Focus on agricultural and self-sufficiency projects in third world. Site has an on-line handbook on growing food in difficult conditions.

Emergency Nutrition Network

Inter-organisational forum for improving coordination and sharing of experience in emergency situations. It has links, a newsletter Field Exchange (current issue on-line).

The Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA)

"supports integrated food security and nutrition programming to improve the health and well being of women and children. The five-year project is managed by the Academy for Educational Development and funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The project helps to integrate nutrition into the strategic planning process; provides analyses for food security and nutrition policy development; and shares information and knowledge with partners. Technical assistance is provided to USAID missions, host governments, private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve program design, monitoring and evaluation." Web site has a variety of useful technical documents, many pitched at policy, planning or country level. Focus areas include women's health, maternal and child nutrition, HIV and AIDS and food security. .

FAO

See its listing under Agricultural Organisations.

A great deal of material related to food security is to be found on the web-site in various formats. As just one example, the document: Human Nutrition in the Developing World.

Feed the Children

Charity focussed on hunger amongst American children. Information on the sitiuation, as well as program information and donor encouragement.

Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy

" Based in California, have an interest in organic farming methods: "The purpose of the Institute for Food and Development Policy, Food First, is to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger. Our grand strategy is to change consciousness, awakening people to the possibility of social change and their own power to bring it about.

Food For The Hungry: World Crisis Network

International food crisis NGO. This site provides information on the problems, as well as encouraging contributions.

Freedom from Hunger

Mainly organisational information, but also some background on world hunger.

Global Network on Food Security

The aim of this organisation is "to promote community action linked to a global discussion on food security." At present (10/97) there appears to be nothing on their web site.

Head Start Program

Administed by USDA, this is a component of a package of national programs that provide food and nutrition assistance to low-income and at-risk populations with the United States. The programs include:

• Child and Adult Care Feeding Program
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Food Stamp Program
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program
• National School Lunch Program
• School Breakfast Program
• After School Snack Program
• Summer Food Service Program
• Elderly Nutrition Program

The web site of Head Start itself contains organisational and program information relating to the entire program, not just its nutrition aspects.

The Hunger Project

NGO focussing on food security projects in Africa, Bangladesh and India. "The Hunger Project has devised a dynamic, people-centered, decentralized methodology known as Strategic Planning-in-Action .. to achieve breakthroughs in health, education, food production nutrition, the empowerment of women and improved incomes. " The site has a range of source material from the projects, including news, transcripts of talks and presentations, plus some background papers.

International Famine Centre

Based in Ireland, this organisation's web site has information about itself and its projects, links, and the latest news on famines.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFRI)

"The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting food needs of the developing world on a sustainable basis, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. IFPRI is one of the 16 research has enters in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research" Web site has organisational information and news releases.

IFRI's Food Consumption and Nutrition Division has its own section within the web site, which has project information, lists the work published by staff and and has a newsletter and other publications.

ILSI International Nutritional Consultative Groups: Anaemia (INACG) and International Vitamin A Consultative Group (IVACG)

Established by ILSI "dedicated to reducing the prevalence of iron deficiency and other nutritionally preventable anemias worldwide. It sponsors international meetings and scientific reviews and convenes task forces".

The iron material includes a document Guidelines for the use of iron supplements to prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia.

 

International Fund for Agricultural Development

"Specialized agency of the United Nations, was launched in December 1977 as an international financial institution with the mandate of assisting exclusively the rural poor.".Web site has press releases, material from the Conference on Hunger and Poverty Brussels (1995).

Kids Can Make A Difference

From World Hunger Year, materials for children on helping with hunger issues, as well as teachers guide.

Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Movement

Based on the University New Mexico web server, this site aims to provide links, mailing list and other communication points for organisations (NGO, private and government) working in the food security area in Latin America.

The Nutrition Consortium of New York State

Food security program with some material on food stamps, geriatric nutrition, child nutrition.

Older Americans Act Nutrition Program

Program information, a small amount of lay material and a very good set of links on Nutrition and Food Safety

The OMNI Project

Opportunities for Micronutrient Interventions. Organisation based in Washington which has focus on public health aspects of micronutrition nutrition, such as vitamin-A, iodine, iron etc, particularly paediatric aspects. Their site gives information about the organisation and access to their publications (both on-line and to download). These vary from workshop reports on public health and regional perspectives, to practical manuals on fortifying sugar with vitamin-A.

Pan American Health Organization

Technical information, country health profile, publications, library services and links. There is a special food and nutrition section and an electronic network on nutrition called NutriInfo at

PFEDA: Partners and Food in Emergency and Development Aid

Based in France, this web site and the organisation behind it are devoted to providing resources to those who work in the emergency food aid area. It has or will feature a data base of food aid supplies, the NGONUT mailing list, information on training, and some documents, the majority of which are in French.

Peace Corps: nutrition projects

Brief invitation to people to join in these projects and explanation of what is required.

PAMM (Program Against Micronutrient Malnutrition

Collaborative program with the motto "Engineering Innovative Solutions to End Hidden Hunger". The web site has links, malnutrition news, program reports and plans, information on iodine deficiency and student lecture notes.

RESULTS: Creating political will to end hunger and poverty

RESULTS is an international grassroots citizens lobby, creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty, and empowering people to realize their own personal and political power. It seeks to find sustainable solutions to the problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world and works to generate the resources necessary to make them succeed. Their web site is nicely presented and offers news, summaries of the issues and avenues to contact policy and law makers.

Safe Food For the Hungry

An annual video conference hosted by Purdue and other Extension univerfsities for staff and volunteers of not-for-profit food assistance programs. Documents from previous year's meetings are available on-line.

Southern African Development Community: Food Security Programme

This is the web site of the Food Security Programme of the Southern African Development Community, based in Zimbabwe. It is a remarkably well put together and useful resource on famine and related agricultural and weather information related to the various countries it covers in the southern tip of Africa. It has its own quarterly bulletin, satellite images, agricultural and other data bases.

SUSTAIN

"Sharing United States Technology to Aid in the Improvement of Nutrition" - a volunteer organisation working with developing countries. Web site has stories of their volunteers, the work, organisational information and some links.

UNICEF

Apart from information on the organisation itself (including email addresses for its staff), UNICEF's web site has news and material on the health status of the world's children which has a strong natural focus on nutrition issues, particularly vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition, food fortification and supplementation projects.

The site has a number of on-line versions or summaries of UNICEF publications (in various formats, such as html, pdf Acrobat):

• The annual report on the United Nations: State of the World's Children
• Progress Report by United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on regional developments in nutrition, child health, basic education and water facilities.
• Country statistics for countries and regions.
• The Progress of Nations reports (and a 1995 version) which ranks nations according to various health paramters, including a section based on nutrition and malnutrition indicators.

There is also a search engine.

United Nations: Sub-Committee on Nutrition

About the committee and its work, particularly in relation to the world perspective on nutrition status, poverty, refugee nutrition information system and more. Features include:

• SCN News
• The Nutrition Commission: small group of experts
• Third Report on the World Nutrition Situation (summary and full text)
• Refugee Nutrition Information System reports

United Nations: World Food Programme

"WFP is the frontline United Nations organization fighting to eradicate world hunger..the world's largest international food aid organization". The web site has lots of statistics, news about current famine and other food crises, other organisations working in the food security area etc. It also has a Catalogue of Institutions with Expertise in Food Assistance (see above). There is a lot of information here and this site is well worth spending time on.

USDA: Food and Consumer Service

A major force in the US government in school nutrition and the campaign against hunger in American schools. "The Food and Consumer Service administers the nutrition assistance programs of the U.S.Department of Agriculture. FCS's goals are to provide needy people with access to a more nutritious diet, to improve the eating habits of the nation's children, and to stabilize farm prices through the distribution of surplus foods."

US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Lots of information on its projects, publications and also some links. See also OMNI (listed above) and Famine Early Warning System (see below).

WHO Nutrition Programme

This is the website for the WHO nutrition and is a major public health nutrition resource. The organisation itself has a focus on malnutrition and public health, including vitamin A, diarrhoeal disease, iron and iodine. Their site reflects this.

There is also information on its goals, its collaborative partners (with links), its publications and documents and on scheduled meetings. The only disappointment is that the actual nutrition material provided is very brief, as this is more description than anything. Nevertheless, many of these documents can be located elsewhere (and are referred to elsewhere in their relevant sections within this guide.) A web site well worth visiting.

World Bank: Health, Nutrition, and Population

From this organisation that can have such an enormous impact on food supply situations in developing countries, this web site has a number of useful resources, including news sections and reports.

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Reports and other food security material

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