AFRO-NETS> The International Society of Public Nutrition (ISPN) Bulletin # 2

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

The International Society of Public Nutrition (ISPN) Bulletin # 2
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Dear friends and colleagues, 
please find below the Second Bulletin of the ISPN, as promised.

Claudio Schuftan
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn

--
The International Society of Public Nutrition (ISPN) Bulletin # 2

Aaron Lechtig, July 19, 2002

"His death was a great loss to each and every needy child in this 
world". As time from Jim Grant death passes, these words from Nelson 
Mandela are still more relevant. Sheyla Barry Tacon reported that the 
first book on Jim is already out in the stores. It starts with a 
grateful foreword from former US President Jimmy Carter, who while in 
charge proposed him as UNICEF Executive Director. It brings contribu-
tions from well known friends and working colleagues such as Peter 
Adamson, Kul Gautam, Richard Jolly, Nyi Nyi, Mary Racelis, Richard 
Reid, John Rohde and Sheyla her self. It provides very illustrative 
first hand glimpses on the period 1980-1995. Its careful reading is a 
very valuable help and a source of renewed enthusiasm for those of us 
interested in improving the quality of life of children.
<SBTacon@aol.com>

Geneva: 
Is it not astonishing? During the World Health Assembly (at the sec-
ond year after the 2000) there was no reference to the 'Health for 
All for the year 2000' goals or comprehensive approaches to health. 
All the initiatives were focussed on immediate determinants of health 
and none tackled the underlying factors.

Claudio Schuftan reports that 'The People Health Movement' (PHM) par-
ticipated in the first Technical briefing session at the World Health 
Assembly, this year from 13-17th May. The PHM delegation raised the 
need for caution in placing NGOs in the same group as 'for profit - 
private sector' as well as the need to look at the poor income people 
of the world. It was a good opportunity to understand the dynamics of 
WHO and the need for effective lobbying with government delegates and 
WHO leadership towards a better strategy to balance the 'market' 
trends. <aviva@netnam.vn>

Sweden: 
Alarming. Ted Greiner reports that there is a substantial dismantling 
of UN and other programs to protect, support and promote breast feed-
ing due to misunderstanding and misallocation of resources following 
the launching of the new UN policy on HIV and infant feeding (1997 
with guidelines issued in 1998). This trend includes the countries 
with high prevalence of HIV infection.

But some good news.... A Letter of Concern was sent to the UN agen-
cies by 77 scientists about the way the pilot projects are being con-
ducted in order to test the infant feeding component of PMTCT, par-
ticularly the lack of evaluation of the impact of artificial feeding. 
The UN agencies provided a substantive response and the will to find 
a way to work better with the "breastfeeding community" seems to be 
growing.

History will be made again in Arusha. UNICEF is leading the way to-
ward new policies based partly on lessons learned so far, and is 
joining the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in holding 
the Colloquium on HIV and Infant Feeding in Arusha , Tanzania on Sep-
tember 20-21, 2002.
(See http://www.waba.org.br/forum2/colloquium.html)

This is important, because it is the first time that the breastfeed-
ing and HIV "communities" have been brought together to identify ar-
eas of agreement for coordinated action. Afterwards, WABA will hold 
the second Global Forum, also in Arusha from Sept 23-27, entitled 
Nurturing the Future, Challenges to Breastfeeding in the 21st Cen-
tury. <ted_greiner@hotmail.com>

Prof. Michael Latham from Cornell University is also working with 
WABA and UNICEF on these two important Arusha meetings. ISPN members 
are encouraged to participate. Michael indicated that details on 
these meetings can also be obtained from the WABA Secretariat in 
Penang, Malaysia <secr@waba.po.my>; <wabaforum@pd.jaring.my>; 
Fax + 60-4-657-2655.

Information and registration forms for both meetings are available at 
the website:
http://www.waba.org.br/forum2/

Norway: 
A must for reading and discussion. On this same line, Elisabet 
Helsing, a colleague who worked in the organization of the ISPN, fin-
ished her excellent paper on breast feeding and children rights. The 
paper to be published soon, covers a wide spectrum of issues such as: 
Why are human rights important in breastfeeding? Provisions relevant 
to breastfeeding in international human rights instruments; Is there 
any alternative to the species-specific milk? The historical contri-
bution of the health profession to the replacement of breastfeeding; 
The medical connection - a dangerous liaison; Introducing human 
rights to the breast feeding movement and discourse; Mothers' human 
right to breastfeed; Feminist perspectives; Mothers' "right" to make 
an informed choice -is someone shirking responsibility? Turning the 
tide: defining the obligations of states in a human rights perspec-
tive; Establishing a framework for state obligations. As you can see 
this paper is a must for all of us. <ehel@online.no>

New York, United Nations: 
An Unclear Special Session? Michael Latham reported also on the 
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children. He was 
delighted to see the participation of so many children. At the same 
time he was disgusted at the U.S. intransigence which resulted in a 
rather weak final declaration. Thanks to you Michael for the insight 
and for your encouragement to all of us to keep up the work at the 
ISPN.

A similar perception was reported by several colleagues including 
Stuart Gillespie in NNN. The Children's Forum that preceded the main 
meeting was one of the most notable highlights. Later among the 
adults too much time was wasted arguing over language that should 
have been solved during the long stage of the meeting preparation.

Major successes from the World Summit for Children in 1990 included 
the near eradication of polio and IDD and the reduction in the number 
of child deaths per year of more than 3 million at world level. Im-
pressive gains of continental scale were also reported. Latin America 
and the Caribbean achieved most goals in Nutrition and Health includ-
ing those of decreasing the prevalence of malnutrition and of low 
birthweight babies.

The plan of action adopted in this Special Session (there was no 
vote) reaffirms several pending goals at world level, the so-called 
unfinished Agenda: elimination of IDD by 2005; elimination of vitamin 
A deficiency and reduction of one-third of anemia and iron deficiency 
by 2010; and, the reduction by one-third of child malnutrition among 
under-fives and low birth weight by 2015.

Comparisons with the World Summit for Children one decade ago were 
unavoidable. They may help to expand the scope and strenght of the 
world commitment to children <http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/>
<mcl6@cornell.edu>

Good News from Kenya. Prof. Ruth K. Oniang'o suggests all people 
interested on Africa Nutrition issues to link to the African Journal 
of Food and Nutritional Sciences-AJFNS. The website is:
http://www.ajfns.net 

Congratulations to you Ruth and your team for the third issue of the 
Journal and keep it up!!!!!!!! We know how much effort it takes to 
publish a good International Journal when you are based in a develop-
ing country.

Good news from Viet Nam. Claudio Schuftan reports that Vietnam suc-
cessfully completed its first five year plan on food and nutrition. 
The prevalence of child malnutrition as measured by low weight for 
the age has decreased from 44% to 37% during same period. This means 
a decreasing rate of minus 1.4% per year, similar to many Latin 
American countries in the past decade. Salt iodization and Vit A cap-
sules distribution have increased significantly. Work to control Iron 
Deficiency Anemia has trailed behind, but is now getting better at-
tention. In 2001 the country started the implementation of its second 
plan of action. <aviva@netnam.vn>

Washington DC: 
New and Noteworthy in Nutrition (NNN), a thrice-yearly newsletter on 
international nutrition and development has been revitalized by Stu-
art Gillespie of IFPRI. The aim is to broadly keep the style of the 
original that was brought out during the 1990s by Alan Berg of the 
World Bank, whilst widening the scope to include the news and views 
of a range of actors in international nutrition. The idea is that NNN 
will provide a conduit for a dynamic interchange between research and 
development communities on nutrition-relevant issues. It seeks to in-
form and stimulate, not to educate. IFPRI welcomes and encourages 
your contributions, on anything you feel is new and noteworthy. If 
you are not yet on the email or hard copy mail list for NNN, please 
contact him. <s.gillespie@ifpri.org>

Canada: 
Going Ahead. Normalie Barton reported on the Second International 
Conference of the International Society for Equity in Health, carried 
out in Toronto, Canada, on June 14-16, 2002. The Conference theme was 
Equity: Research in the Service of Policy and Advocacy for Health and 
Health Services.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, the International 
Society for Equity in Health (ISEqH) welcomes those interested in eq-
uity in health and health services to share expertise and experience 
through an international cross-disciplinary forum. ISEqH wishes to 
promote equity in health and health services internationally through 
research, education, publication and communication. Their specific 
purposes are to facilitate scientific interchange; to advance re-
search; to provide a forum for those interested in contributing 
knowledge; and to maintain relationships with other organizations de-
voted to achieving equity in health. Additional information is avail-
able on the ISEqH website: <www.iseqh.org/conf2002/toronto2002.htm> 
or from Normalie Barton <nbarton@jhsph.edu>

Central America: 
Advancing. Talking about Equity in Health, fresh winds are coming 
from Central America. Hedi Deman, a former Research Associate at 
INCAP was responsible for the implementation of the extension of cov-
erage of Primary Health care in Guatemala after the Peace Treaty 
which finished the 36 years civil war. In the period 1996- 1999, 
while she was the Executive Officer in charge, the coverage figure 
rose from 50% to an impressive 84%, in a country that could not move 
one point ahead during the last four decades. Now she is a WB advisor 
working for similar improvements in Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua and 
El Salvador, with intense participation of the local NGO´s at prov-
ince and community level. As it is widely accepted now, access to 
health services is as important as access to food and to care , in 
order to get a significant improvement in the rates of malnutrition 
among the poor. Several publications are available describing the 
pros and cons of the strategy implemented to expand coverage.
<hdeman @incap.org.gt>

UC at Davis: 
Animal Source Foods and Nutrition. Lindsay Allen and Montague Demment 
from the University of California, Davis organized the International 
Conference on "Animal Source Foods and Nutrition in Developing Coun-
tries" held on June 24-26, 2002 in Washington D.C. The conference fo-
cused on the fact that the lack of animal source foods in human diets 
is probably the main cause of micronutrient deficiencies in develop-
ing countries and subsequently of impaired human development and 
function. Evolutionary and current evidence for this statement was 
reviewed. Trends in consumption of animal source foods were presented 
and their implications discussed by FAO and economists. The role of 
animal source foods in the Nutrition Transition was considered. The 
results of the first randomized, controlled trial of the effects of 
meat or milk on child development and micronutrient status, conducted 
in rural Kenya, was the focus of one session. Constraints to animal 
source food production and consumption were discussed at the house-
hold, community and national level. Case studies revealed the suc-
cesses and failures of programs to increase the production and/or 
consumption of animal products in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin 
America. Cultural issues were considered, and economic constraints, 
solutions and benefits presented. A policy and research agenda was 
developed. Overall, there was consensus that the lack of animal 
source foods in developing countries is a serious and neglected nu-
trition problem, and that there are a number of steps that can be 
taken to improve this situation. The conference presentations will be 
published as a Supplement to a nutrition journal in the near future. 
<Lindsay.Allen@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk>

Brazil: 
Cristina Monte reports that the (long awaited for) new feeding guide-
lines for the Brazilian children under two years of age have been 
completed and are now available. They were prepared with the partici-
pation of researchers and health professionals all over the country, 
the Ministry of Health of Brazil, PAHO/ WHO and the University of 
Pelotas, Brazil. A copy of the technical document in pdf format, con-
taining data on the current children´s food and nutrition situation 
and the 10 steps to be implemented to promote complementary feeding, 
is available at:
http://www.opas.org.br/publicacoes2.cfm?codigo=43

Ghana: 
Improving. Eliasu John Mahama the newest member of the Society re-
ports the development of mother support groups for breastfeeding pro-
motion, protection and support as part of the HIV prevention pro-
gramme. A food based strategy for the control of micronutrient defi-
ciencies is also on implementation together with the fortification of 
cooking oil (Frytol) with Vitamin A. In addition, the country network 
on nutrition and food security became operational and widely used. 
Congratulations Eliasu !!!! <eliasujohn@yahoo.com>

Indonesia: 
The lessons learned. Ernest Schoeffelen informs that the University 
of Gadjah Mada in Jogjakarta will host an international workshop to: 
review the advantages and disadvantages of growth compared with 
prevalence of underweight as a suitable indicator for monitoring pov-
erty and human development; define key elements of a system that 
links child growth, nutritional status and other human development 
indicators for different levels of decision making; and, to identify 
the role of community Growth Monitoring and Promotion in combating 
malnutrition at household-, community- and national levels. The meet-
ing planned for 10 to 13 November 2002 is supported by the Ministry 
of Health of Indonesia, the University of Gadjah Mada, World Bank and 
UNICEF and it will include about 25 top international and national 
experts on child growth, poverty and economic development.
<eschoeffelen@unicef.org>

"Don't give us food, but open your markets because with markets, we 
can generate employment and income." words of Alejandro Toledo, 
President of Peru, while addressing the UN Assembly at the Special 
Session on Children in the name of the 21 countries that form the 
Iberian American Group. <http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/>

Rainer Gross, formerly from GTZ and Director of the Institute of Food 
security and Nutrition (ISAN) in Lima, Peru, became the chief of the 
Nutrition Section at UNICEF New York. People are awaiting his opening 
proposals.

--
The main objective of the ISPN is to study issues of policy making 
and program development related to the human nutrition problem. We 
want to provide a space where interested people can meet, be inspired 
and work, as a way to create fresh potential to solve the nutrition 
problem. The Society is open to membership of professionals in nutri-
tion, human rights, policy making and analysis, health, agriculture, 
food industry, economics, law, education, justice, labor. The members 
of the Society, are those of us who want to work in favour of the nu-
trition of the people because it is their right, it is a noble cause, 
it is just, necessary, feasible - and we can make a difference. We 
spend our time on this issue because it is our personal satisfaction 
to do so.

Legal registration of the ISPN is being completed as an NGO in Lima, 
Peru and at the United Nations in New York.

It is expected that the focal points in each country will advance the 
formation of national groups on Public Nutrition which may evolve to 
the National Societies of Public Nutrition if they wish. It is also 
assumed that the statutes of the National groups will be general, 
flexible and compatible with those of the ISPN.

Although we still can not circulate a consensus draft of the Statutes 
of the Society it is anticipated that we want them to be simple, 
flexible, decentralised, grass roots oriented, plural and democratic.

Intense search is currently being conducted on possible sources of 
financing. Yet, the current quality of our membership and the 
strength of our commitment are our most powerful resource.

For interaction at this stage we will use e-mail. Suggestions on top-
ics for discussion are welcome. For each theme there will be a focal 
point in charge of facilitating the interaction among participants 
and producing a summary of the discussion, including proposals for 
action.

A call for applications: 
The Public Nutrition Article of the Year. The floor is open for ap-
plications for this Prize from scientists, activists, cooperants and 
all colleagues in the Society. Any member can propose articles by 
sending them (e mail or regular mail) and making the proposal for 
nomination. The article must have been published during the period 
January- December 2002. The final decision will be made by the Ad-hoc 
Committee not later than January 31, 2003 and informed to everybody 
through this Bulletin.

Another nomination. The colleague who sends the best contribution to 
the ISPN Bulletin during 2002 will receive the nomination of The Bul-
letin Contribution of the Year. The winner will be selected among all 
contributors before January 31, 2003. Applications are made automati-
cally at the moment your notes are sent for publication.

The Next Bulletin will come when we have news from you people. Please 
copy this letter to those interested in participating. We need name 
and e- mail address as the indications of interest.

Opportunities for employment and career development. At the request 
of several members, the next issue will include a Section on this 
theme. Those of you interested in offering positions, training or 
looking for them please send a few lines for publication.

Let us expand our interaction. Let us keep sending our comments, 
doubts, questions, additions or corrections in e-mail style in the 
language we prefer. We all benefit from others opinions and reactions 
and this Society will be what her members want. This very little seed 
is now slowly germinating with the contributions from all of you, 
committed, generous people.

Aaron Lechtig
mailto:alechtig@terra.com.pe

--
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