Press Release
Phnom Penh, 8 June 2010: A new Joint Programme for Children, Food Security and Nutrition was launched in Cambodia today. Government ministers, UN agencies and other stakeholders gathered at the Office of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh to launch the three-year Joint Programme, designed to improve food security and reduce under-nutrition among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
The Joint Programme, to be implemented between 2010 and 2012, was developed in close consultation between Government Ministries, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders. The Programme will be piloted in two provinces, Svay Rieng and Kampong Speu, considered by the World Food Programme to be ‘chronically food-insecure’, and a nationwide mass media campaign on infant and young child feeding and iron/folate for pregnant and postpartum women will be undertaken. Lessons learned will be used to scale up the Programme across the country.
UN Resident Coordinator Douglas Broderick commented, "The Joint Programme provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the Government’s response to food insecurity and malnutrition in Cambodia. It is also a significant step forward for the UN in Cambodia to Deliver as One."
Funding for the Programme is provided by the Spanish government through the Global MDG Achievement Fund, a fund that aims to accelerate progress towards achievement of the MDGs in selected countries. USD 5 million has been allocated for this three-year programme.
The joint approach will build on existing experiences of government, NGOs and several UN agencies in implementing nutrition and food security programmes and will work with current initiatives to ensure coordination at both national and provincial levels. The Joint Programme focuses on strengthening implementation of existing policies, as well as developing new policies specifically addressing malnutrition. It also aims to establish an integrated food security and nutrition monitoring system in Cambodia.
The Joint Programme will contribute to the achievement of national targets for Cambodia’s Millennium Development Goals 1, 4 and 5, namely to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. The Programme will also contribute to achieving other national strategic development goals, including those set out in the country’s first National Nutrition Strategy and the Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition in Cambodia.
