Revised National Food & Nutrition Security Policy

1.1 Security B Policy. ACKGROUND INFORMATION ................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 NAMIBIA SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION ..................................................................................................... 4

1.3 CLIMATE CHANGE SITUATION ................................................................................................................... 4

1.4 FOOD SECURITY SITUATION ..................................................................................................................... 4

1.5 NUTRITION SITUATION IN NAMIBIA ............................................................................................................ 5

1.6 HEALTH STATUS FOR VULNERABLE POPULATION IN NAMIBIA ............................................................................ 7

1.7 NAMIBIA WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE SITUATION ................................................................................ 7

1.8 STATUS OF FOOD AND NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS, GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................... 8 2. RATIONALE AND LEGAL ALIGNMENT .......................................................................................................... 15

2.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 15

2.2 RATIONALE........................................................................................................................................ 15

2.3 LEGAL ALIGNMENT .............................................................................................................................. 16

2.4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................................... 19 3. POLICY DIRECTION...................................................................................................................................... 20

3.1 VISION ............................................................................................................................................. 20

3.2 MISSION........................................................................................................................................... 20

3.2 GOAL............................................................................................................................................... 20

3.4 POLICY OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................. 20

3.5 GOVERNMENT POLICY OBJECTIVES, RATIONALE AND STRATEGIES .................................................................... 21 ii i II III II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND COORDINATION............................................................................. 33

4.1 GOVERNANCE AND COORDINATION ......................................................................................................... 34

4.2 The Government STAKEHOLDER ROLES AND of RNamibia ESPONSIBILITIES is .............................................................................................. specifically grateful to all senior government officers 35 for 4.3 valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices LEGAL AND REGULATORY ARRANGEMENTS ................................................................................................ 41 and Ministries 4.4 are: OfficeMof RESOURCE the Prime OBILISATION Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health ..................................................................................................................... 41 and

4.5 Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................... 42 Gender Equality,

4.6 Poverty ADVOCACYEradication AND DISSEMINATION and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry ............................................................................................................ 42 of

4.7 Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; POLICY REVISION ................................................................................................................................ 42 Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication 5. IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN ............................................................................................................... 44 Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry 6. CONCLUSION of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; .............................................................................................................................................. 44 and Regionals Councils. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................... 46 The technical inputs of the United Nations APPENDICES agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, 50 FAO and ................................................................................................................................................... WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society ANNEX 1: MAIN POLICIES THAT IMPACT FSN IN NAMIBIA .......................................................................................... 50 organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions ANNEX 2: MAIN SECTOR STRATEGIES THAT IMPACT FSN IN NAMIBIA ........................................................................... 52 provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. ANNEX 3: LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ....................................................................................................................... 53 EXPERTS........................................................................................................................................................ 55 The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by QUALITY ASSURANCE ....................................................................................................................................... 55 individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the Table of Tables bibliography section. TABLE 1 Finally, POLICY ALIGNMENT FOR FOOD AND the Government is Nspecifically UTRITION SECURITY POLICY ................................................................... grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID16for the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. iii i III IV II PREAMBLE PREAMBLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Adequate nutrition is a basic human right and a prerequisite The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for for both national growth and sustainable development. valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries are: Office of the PrimeImproving nutritionPlanning Minister; National status ofCommission; the Namibian population Ministry is notand of Health only an ethical Signature Social Services; Ministry of placed Agriculture, responsibility here Water but also a step towards the and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication andattainment of Ministry Social Welfare; objectives of Namibia’s of Education, Vision Arts and 2030. Culture; The of Ministry Government DR. Higher Education, Technology SAARA of and the Republic of Urban KUUGONGELWA-AMADHILA, Innovation; Ministry of Namibia and hasMPmade Rural great Development; PRIME MINISTER efforts and Ministry of Industrialisation to Trade; improveMinistry the health and of nutritional Information and status of Communication Technology; Ministry ofeveryone Labour, in Namibia. Industrial Despite&these Relations efforts, many Employment households Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine still Resources; face Ministry challengesofin accessing Environment,nutritious Forestry and Tourism; and safe food.and Regionals Councils. Maternal and child undernutrition remains a major public health and development issue. Further, Namibia is now facing the double burden of The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and Adequate and malnutrition nutrition is a basic growing human levels of right obesityandand a prerequisite diet-relatedfor both national growth and non-communicable diseases WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society sustainable especially development. in urban Improving and peri-urban nutrition status of the Namibian population is not only settings. organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions an ethical responsibility but also a step towards the attainment of objectives of Namibia’s provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. Vision One of the2030. The Government primary of the responsibilities Republic of of the Namibia Government has made is to improvegreat the efforts health to andimprove nutrition the health and Thethrough of its people nutritional Government status well-designed, of everyone coordinated appreciates the in Namibia. and implemented resourceful Despite contributions and these policies efforts, and time unbound many strategies. To by spent households sustainably still face address the individuals challenges underlying during the in revisionaccessing nutritious immediate andof this policy causesand without of safe food. Maternal malnutrition, which this and the would document child Government not have willundernutrition support remains beena holistic completed. a major and public health multi-sectoral Their mostly issue. development andwere approach contributions to the Further, implementation made throughNamibia of the is now directFood and individual facing consultations, the double burden of workshop malnutrition forums and and growing levels sharing of and valuableof obesity referenceand diet-related non- materials included in the Nutrition Security Policy through a well-coordinated managed institutional framework. communicable diseases bibliography especially in urban and peri-urban settings. section. The revived and strengthened Food and Nutrition Security Council will perform this function supported by primary One of the structures at the regional, responsibilities district of the and is to constituency Government level. improve the health and nutrition Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the of its people supportthrough well-designed, with financial coordinated and technical andtowards expertise implemented policies the revision of and this strategies. To Food and Nutrition Thesustainably Government acknowledges address the that significant underlying and improvements immediate causes of in the food malnutrition, and the nutrition Government status Security Policy. of the will people support of Namibia a holistic andwill only be realised multi-sectoral approach through innovative and to the implementation transformative of the Food and investments Nutrition at everyPolicy Security stage of the a through food value-chain, and well-coordinated guided by a clear managed understanding institutional framework.of the food system. The revivedThis and food systemsFood strengthened approach and must Nutritionaddress Securitybinding constraints Council will performinthisinput supply, function food production, supported aggregation, by structures processing, at the regional, marketing, district and and level. constituency consumption to improve food quality, availability, affordability, consumption, and dietary diversity across all age-groups of the The Government acknowledges that significant improvements in the food and nutrition status country’s population. It can only address malnutrition in all its facets through the of the people of Namibia will only be realised through innovative and transformative implementation of quality food and nutrition programmes, sustainable investment in food investments at every stage of the food value-chain, guided by a clear understanding of the security and proper accountability. It will seek to support increased domestic funding for food food system. This food systems approach must address binding constraints in input supply, andfood nutrition security, strengthen information management systems and build the capacity of production, aggregation, processing, marketing, and consumption to improve food human resources quality, to develop availability, and implement affordability, quality consumption, food and and dietary nutrition diversity security across programmes. all age-groups of the country’s population. It can only address malnutrition in all its facets through the Theimplementation formulation process of the policy was inclusive, and yielded consensus and integration of of quality food and nutrition programmes, sustainable investment in food multiple ideas from all sectors that It security and proper accountability. will willenhance ownership, seek to support commitment, increased and collaboration domestic funding for food towards attainment of the Policy objectives. The policy is not intended to replace and nutrition security, strengthen information management systems and build the capacity or duplicate of other sectoral human policies resources to or strategies; develop and rather implement it quality provides anand food overarching framework nutrition security that speaks programmes. to all strategic documents related to food and nutrition while informing those that will be The formulation developed by line process ministriesof to thefoster policy was policyinclusive, and yielded consensus and integration of alignment. multiple ideas from all sectors that will enhance ownership, commitment, and collaboration Thetowards attainment Government of the of he Policy of Republic objectives. Namibia Thecalls policy is not upon allintended to replace stakeholders to or duplicate commit to and invest in food and nutrition security to ensure effective implementation of this policy, with the common goal to end hunger and eliminate all forms of malnutrition and its related iv i iv IV V II other sectoralonpolicies consequences or strategies; the Namibian rather it provides population, an overarching and ultimately framework contribute that speaks of to attainment to all strategic documents related to food and nutrition while informing those that will be Namibia’s Vision 2030. developed by line ministries to foster policy alignment. The Government of the Republic of Namibia calls upon all stakeholders to commit to and invest in food and nutrition security to ensure effective implementation of this policy, with the ………………………………………………………….. common goal to end hunger and eliminate all forms of malnutrition and its related DR. SAARA KUUGONGELWA-AMADHILA, consequences on the Namibian population, andMP ultimately contribute to attainment of Namibia’s PRIME Vision 2030. MINISTER v VI v ACRONYMS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AIDS The Government Acquired Immuno-deficiency of Namibia Syndrome is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for AMTAvaluable Agro technicalMarketing and in contributions Trade theAgency revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries ART are: Office of the Anti-Retroviral Therapy National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and Prime Minister; BMI Social Services; Body Mass MinistryIndex of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, CAADP Comprehensive Poverty Eradication Africa and Social Agriculture Welfare; Development Ministry of Programme Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of CSO Higher Education, Civil Society Organisation Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; DDRMMinistry ofDirectorate of Disaster Industrialisation andRisk Management Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication DHS Technology; Ministry Demographic of and Health Labour, Survey Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Industrial FAO Fisheries and Food and Marine Agriculture Resources;Organisation Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and FNSC Regionals Food and Nutrition Security Council Councils. FNSIASC Food and Nutrition Security Inter-Agency Steering Committee The technical FNSMIS Foodinputs and of the United Nutrition Nations Security agencies, in Monitoring particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and System FNSP WHO and Foodstatutory institutions and Nutrition as well Security as non-governmental organisations, civil society Policy FNSSCorganisations Foodand theNutrition and private sector Security areSteering highly Committee acknowledged. Overall, their contributions GDP provided Gross benchmarks around Domestic which strategies for the policy statements were created. Product HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICN The Government appreciates International the resourceful Conference on Nutritioncontributions and unbound time spent by IYCF individualsInfant during theYoung and revision of this Child policy without which this document would not have Feeding M&E been completed. Their contributions Monitoring and Evaluation were mostly made through direct individual MAWLRconsultations, workshop Ministry forums and of Agriculture, sharing Water andof valuable Land Reformreference materials included in the MDVA bibliography section. Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs MEAC Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture MEFT Finally, the Government Ministry is specifically of Environment, grateful Forestry andtoTourism UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the MFMR support with Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources the revision of this Food and Nutrition financial and technical expertise towards MGECWSecurity Policy. Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare MGEPESW Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare MHETI Ministry of Higher Education, Technology, and Innovation MICT Ministry of Information and Communication Technology MIT Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade MLIREC Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation MoHSS Ministry of Health and Social Services MOF Ministry of Finance MOJ Ministry of Justice MSYNS Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service MT Metric tonnes MURD Ministry of Urban and Rural Development NAD Namibia dollar NAFIN National Alliance for Improved Nutrition NAFSAN Nutrition and Food Security Alliance of Namibia NAMVAC Namibia Vulnerability Assessment Committee NCA Northern Communal Area NCD Non-Communicable Disease NDHS Namibian Demographic and Health Survey NDP5 Fifth National Development Plan NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development vi i VI VII II NGOs ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Non-Governmental Organisations NPC National Planning Commission NPCCThe Government NationalofPolicy on Climate Namibia Changegrateful to all senior government officers for is specifically NSA valuable technical Namibia Statistics contributionsAgency in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries NSFP are: Office Namibian School Feeding of the Prime Minister; National Programme Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and NSI Social Services; Namibia Standards Institute Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, OPM Poverty Eradication Office of the andPrime SocialMinister Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of OMA Higher Education, Offices, Ministries Technology and andAgencies Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; OVC Ministry ofOrphans and Vulnerable Children Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication PITC Technology; Provider-initiated Ministry of Labour,testing and counselling Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of SADC Fisheries and Southern Africa Development Community Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and SDG Sustainable Development Goals Regionals Councils. SUN Scaling Up Nutrition SUNCIP Scaling The technical UpofNutrition inputs the UnitedCountry Implementation Nations Plan agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and TB Tuberculosis WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society UN organisations United and Nations the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions UNICEF United provided benchmarks Nations Children’s around Fund which strategies for the policy statements were created. USAID United States Agency for International Development USD The Government United States of America appreciates the dollar resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by WASHindividualsWater, Sanitation during the andof this revision Hygienepolicy without which this document would not have WFP been completed. World Food Programme Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual WHO consultations, World Health forums workshop Organisation and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography section. Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. vii i VII VIII II GLOSSARY OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CONCEPTS AND TERMS 1,000 days: The The 1,000 daysofbetween Government pregnancy Namibia is and a child's specifically grateful2ndto all birthday. seniorThis period governmentis known officers for as the window of valuable opportunity technical as thisin contributions is the most critical revision time for of this positive policy. impact Specific on and Offices child's Ministries cognitive and of are: Office physical development. the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, Acute Poverty Malnutrition (also and Eradication known as wasting): Social Welfare;A low weight Ministry of for height Arts Education, (below -2zCulture; and scores of the Ministry of median WHO Higher growth standards), Education, usually Technology and associated with Innovation; starvation Ministry of Urbanand/or disease. and Rural Development; Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication BMI: Body mass index Technology; defined Ministry of as weight (in Labour, kg) divided Industrial by & Relations height (in M) squared. Employment Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Breast Milk Substitute: Regionals Councils.Any food marketed or otherwise represented as a partial or total replacement for breast milk, whether or not suitable for that purpose. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and Common WHO and statutory Results Framework: A institutions as well asframework comprehensive non-governmental organisations, that contains civil society nutrition-related organisations shared goals andand the private aligned actionssector (bothare highlynutrition specific acknowledged. Overall, interventions andtheir contributions nutrition- provided sensitive benchmarks approaches) fromaround whichministries government strategies for andthe policy other statements stakeholders to were created. achieve stated goals. The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by individuals Coordination: during process the revision in which, underof this the policy without leadership which this of a legitimate documentindividual authoritative would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through or organisation, stakeholders exchange information, align activities and resources around direct individual consultations, on agreed results workshop forums and framework, and enhance sharing each of valuable other’s reference capacity materials for mutual included benefit and a in the bibliography common purpose. section. Finally, theFeeding: Complementary Government is specifically Gradual grateful introduction to UNICEF, age-appropriate of nutritionally WFP, FAO, and and USAID safefor the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food foods during the transition from exclusive breastfeeding to two years or more while the and Nutrition Security mother Policy.to breastfeed. continues Emergency: Situation of hardship and human suffering that overwhelms people’s capacity to manage and cope alone for a period and requires intervention with support from outsiders. Exclusive Breastfeeding: To achieve optimal growth, development and health, infants should receive only breast milk, no other liquids or solids– not even water – for the first six months of life. Food diversification: maximisation of the number of different foods or food groups consumed by an individual, especially beyond starchy grains and cereals. Food Fortification: process of adding micronutrients, or restoring those lost during processing, to food products. Food Security: a situation when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life. viii i VIII IX II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Food system: the ecosystem, people, resources, and all activities involved in the production, processing, preservation, trade, distribution, preparation, and consumption of foods. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for Hunger: uncomfortable valuable technicalor painful sensation contributions in thecaused by of revision thethis need to eat. In policy. global, Specific hunger Offices andoften Ministries refers to insufficient food consumption or prolonged lack of food that can are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health lead to and malnutrition. Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of InfantHigher and Young Child Feeding: Education, the and Technology feeding of infantsMinistry Innovation; (less than of12 months Urban andold) andDevelopment; Rural young children (12–23 Ministry of months old) including Industrialisation andthe protection, Trade; promotion Ministry and support of Information andof Communication exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months; timely introduction of complementary feeding Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry and of continued breastfeeding for two years or beyond. Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Regionals Councils. Institutional Feeding: The provision of food services to residents by established organisations suchThe as technical hospitals,inputs learning institutions, of the elderly agencies, United Nations residentialinhouses, army particular barracks WFP, among UNICEF, FAO and others. WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions International providedCode of Marketing benchmarks around ofwhich Breaststrategies Milk Substitutes: a set for the policy of recommendations statements were created.to regulate the marketing of breast-milk substitutes, feeding bottles and teats adopted at the 34thThe session of the World Government Health the appreciates Assembly in 1981 as a resourceful minimumand contributions requirement unboundtotimeprotect spent by and promote appropriate individuals during theinfant andof revision young child feeding. this policy without which this document would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual Low Birth Weight (also consultations, referred as workshop intra-uterine forums growth and sharing retardation): of valuable weight at reference birth less materials than in the included 2,500 grams due to bibliography poor pregnancy conditions. section. Finally, the Malnutrition: Government abnormal is specifically physiological grateful to condition UNICEF, resulting from WFP, FAO, and deficiencies, USAIDorfor the excesses support in imbalances with financial energy, and and/or proteins technical expertise other towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition nutrients. Security Policy. Micronutrients: Essential vitamins, minerals and other substances that are required in miniscule amounts (milligrams or micrograms) by the body throughout the lifecycle. Micronutrient deficiency (also referred as Hidden Hunger): lack of essential micronutrients in diets negatively affecting the health, cognitive development and economic development of over two billion people worldwide. Moderate acute malnutrition: low weight for height (between – 3 and -2 z scores of the median WHO international growth standards) or by a mid-upper arm circumference between 11.5 cm and 12.5 cm. Multi-stakeholder Platform: A shared space for dialogue among various nutrition stakeholders – government, civil society, UN agencies, donors, business and the research community – to align activities and take joint responsibility for policy implementation, including setting shared targets and coordinated plans of action. Nutrition Security: nutritional wellbeing attained due to secure access to an appropriately nutritious diet coupled with a sanitary environment, access to safe water, adequate health services and care. ix i IX X II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions: interventions designed to address the underlying and basic causes of malnutrition and take into consideration the cross-sector impact of nutrition. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for Nutrition-Specific Interventions: valuable technical Interventions contributions in that are the revision designed of this to Specific policy. address direct causes of Offices and Ministries malnutrition with direct impact on nutritional outcomes, such as exclusive breastfeeding; are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and appropriate complementary Social Services; feeding; Ministry of micronutrient Agriculture, Water andfortification and Ministry Land Reform; supplementation; of Genderand Equality, therapeutic feeding. Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Obesity: abnormal Ministry physiological condition of Industrialisation (malnutrition and Trade; Ministrydefined by a BMI and of Information 30) caused by Communication excesses or unbalances in energy to the extent that health may be impaired and that can Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of leadFisheries to chronicand diseases. Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Regionals Councils. Over nutrition: Excessive food intake relative to dietary nutrient requirements. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and Overweight: WHO and nutritional statutorydisorder resulting institutions from as well as an excessive intakeorganisations, non-governmental and/or inadequate civil society absorption of energy, fats or sugar. organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. Ready-to-use Therapeutic Foods: Specialized ready-to-eat, portable, shelf-stable products, available The as pastes, spreads Government or biscuits appreciates thethat are used in a resourceful prescribed and contributions manner to treat time unbound children spent by with severe acute individuals malnutrition. during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual Severe acute malnutrition: consultations, very low workshop forumsweight and for height sharing of (below valuable-3 z scores of the reference median materials WHO in the included growth standards), by bibliography visible severe wasting, or by the presence of bilateral pitting oedema section. or mid-upper arm circumference of less than 115 mm in children six – 59 months old. Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the support with Strategy: a financial and well-conceived, technical practical expertise approach towardsanthe to achieving revision– of objective this Food usually and a involvingNutrition Security group Policy. activities. of interrelated Strategic Objective: a broad operational objective that supports the policy mission and goals and whose achievement requires a set of strategies. Stunting: Low height-for-age measurement used as an indicator of chronic malnutrition, calculated by comparing the height-for-age of a child with a reference population of well- nourished and healthy children. Supplementary Feeding: Provision of extra food along with whatever is being consumed to selected group of children, pregnant and lactating women and other nutritionally vulnerable groups to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the individual. Undernutrition: insufficient intake and/or inadequate absorption of energy, protein or micronutrients leading to nutritional deficiencies. x i X XI II EXECUTIVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SUMMARY A. The Introduction Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries In 1995, Namibia developed its first Food and Nutrition Policy with the objective to improve are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and the nutritional status of the population through improving the quantity and quality of food Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, eaten to provide adequate nutrition to all, empowering households to use the available Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of resources to improve childcare, feeding practices, and their hygiene and sanitation Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; environment and provision of adequate levels of social and supporting services. In 2010, the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication Cabinet established the Namibia Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN), to coordinate and Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of promote accountability on nutrition programming and actions in the country. In 2011, Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Namibia was accepted as a member of the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. This was Regionals Councils. followed by the development of the Namibia Scaling-Up Nutrition Country Implementation Plan (SUNCIP) 2012-2016. The technical inputsInof2015, the Ministry the United of Health Nations andinSocial agencies, Services, particular WFP, in collaboration UNICEF, FAO and with Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, initiated the process civil society of revising the Food and Nutrition Policy (1995) into the current policy. The Revised organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributionsNational Food and Nutrition provided Policy (2021) benchmarks aroundforms thestrategies which basis for food and for the nutrition policy security statements actions were that created. consider national progress and challenges raised in the NDP5 and the Zero Hunger Strategy ReviewTheReport (2016). Its ultimate Government appreciates objective the is to ensure that resourceful everyoneand contributions in Namibia unboundhas access time spent by to adequate, affordable, safe, sustainable, and quality diets capable of meeting their individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have nutrient requirements been for healthy and completed. Theirproductive lives. were mostly made through direct individual contributions consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the Backgroundsection. B. bibliography information B1. Namibia Socio-Economic Situation Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the Namibia is categorised support as an and with financial upper middle-income technical expertise country towards with a population the revision of this of 2.5 and Food million Nutrition estimated for 2020 and Security Policy. a per capita income of USD3,217.64 in 2020. This middle-income status masks extreme poverty and inequalities amongst the population and regions. Although Namibia registered a general reduction in poverty incidence between 2003/04 and 2015/16, 17.4% of the population remains poor. Namibia's imports exceed its exports resulting in a trade deficit. The country mainly relies on South Africa for imports. The country imports 50-80% of its food requirements. Malnutrition contributes to more than 45% of all deaths in children under five years of age. More than half of Namibia’s poor households are in rural areas and engaged in subsistence farming. B2. Climate Change Situation Namibia is classified as semi-arid to arid receiving rainfall of up to 700 mm per year. Climate variability greatly affects agricultural production exacerbating household food insecurity and malnutrition. B3. Food Security Situation In 2016, a food and nutrition security assessment indicated that 34% of the Namibian population were food insecure. In 2017, Namibia’s Global Hunger Index Score declined to 25.7 from 30.9 recorded in 2008 depicting a serious hunger situation in Namibia. In Namibia, the major staple crops are white maize, wheat, pearl millet and sorghum. Livestock products are mainly from cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Whereas Namibia is a surplus producer xi i XI XII II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT for beef, the country remains food insufficient because of fluctuation of cereal production over the years. Cereal production meets only 60% of domestic requirements and the remaining 40% is imported from the SADC The Government region. Factors of Namibia impeding is specifically availability, grateful access government to all senior and utilisation of officers for nutritious foods in valuable subsistence-based technical households contributions in include the revision highpolicy. of this levels of poverty, Specific inequality Offices and in Ministries incomeare:distribution, chronic Office of the Primedrought Minister;and recurrent National water shortages Planning Commission;resulting in death Ministry of and of Health animals and crop Social failures, Services; widespread Ministry of soil erosion Agriculture, andLand Water and land Reform; degradation, limited Ministry income- of Gender Equality, generating opportunities and restrictions on women’s access to, and control over land and Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of resources. Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication Among indigenous communities, the gathering of wild foods is still an important livelihood Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of strategy. However, it is highly seasonal and limited in most areas by lack of access to land. Formal Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and employment is a major determinant of food security, mostly because it offers regular cash income, Regionals Councils. but employment opportunities for individuals from indigenous people remain limited. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and B4. Nutrition Situation in Namibia WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society Since independence, the proportion organisations and the private of undernourished sector children under are highly acknowledged. five years Overall, theirold has contributions steadily declined. The provided demographic benchmarks health survey around which offor strategies 2013 indicated that, the policy statementsof the under were five- created. year old children; 24% are stunted, 6% wasted and 13% underweight. While there is a The Government commendable appreciates 5 percentage the resourceful points decline contributions in stunting when comparedand unbound timedata to previous spent by individuals presented in NDHS during the 2006/7, revision the currentoflevel thisof policy without stunting which this is a clear document reflection of wouldlow persistent not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through food intake and recurrent or chronic infections. According to the not yet published Cost ofdirect individual consultations, Hunger in workshop Namibia Report, forums and stunting increasedsharing of by to 30.4% valuable reference 20161. In materials addition to poorincluded nutrient in the bibliography section. intake, intestinal parasites such as helminths and Schistosomiasis aggravate micronutrient inadequacy, but only 43% of children under the age of five years receive deworming Finally, medication as athe Government is complementary specifically measure grateful to improve to UNICEF, status. micronutrient WFP, FAO, and USAID for the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security The 2013 NDHSPolicy. showed that 14% of women of childbearing age (15-49 years) were thin (BMI below 18.5) due to insufficient energy intake, with the prevalence being higher in the rural areas compared to the urban areas. At the same time, 32% of women were overweight (BMI between 24.9 and 29.9) or obese (BMI above 30). This co-existence of undernutrition and overweight, suggests that Namibia is undergoing a nutrition transition with overweight or obesity being more of a public health concern than underweight in women because of its association to non-communicable diseases. The status of the most common micronutrients deficiencies like vitamin A, iodine, and zinc is not well documented in Namibia. According to the NDHS 2013, anaemia, which is an indication of iron deficiency, affects 48% of children aged 6-59 months and 21% of women of childbearing age. B5. Health status for vulnerable population in Namibia The 2013 NDHS report shows that diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection and fever are the most common infections among children under five years of age in Namibia. Additionally, Malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB, and other infectious diseases are risk factors for undernutrition. Long- lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying are part of the integrated strategy for malaria prevention, but only 24% of households have at least one 1Cost of Hunger in Namibia – Namibia Country Report, Draft 5, September 2021, p.33. In the following we continue to reference the DHS 2013. xii i XII XIII II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT insecticide-treated mosquito net (ITN), and a minimal 6% of children under five years of age sleep under the ITN. In 2014, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS was estimated at 16.9% of the population. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries B6. Namibia Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene situation are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and According SocialtoServices; 2013 NDHS, Ministry only of 49% and 17% Agriculture, of and Water households in urban Land Reform; andofrural Ministry Genderareas Equality, respectively Poverty have access toand Eradication improved Social water and Welfare; sanitation Ministry conditionsArts of Education, andand about 48% of the Culture; Ministry of population Higherpractice open defecation Education, Technology and and 34% of households Innovation; Ministryuse improved of Urban andand individual Rural Development; household-based Ministry oftoilet facilities. IndustrialisationFurthermore, and about Trade; 20% ofofschools Ministry do not and Information have access to Communication toilets. Moreover, Technology;the regionsofwith Ministry highest Labour, rates of open Industrial defecation Relations & reported highest Employment rates of Creation; Ministry of stunting. Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Regionals Councils. B7. Status of food and nutrition interventions, gaps and opportunities The technical The sections inputs the below outline of the United various Nations efforts madeagencies, in particulartoWFP, by the government UNICEF, mitigate FAO and the food WHO and statutory institutions and nutrition security in the country. as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions provided B8. Food benchmarks and nutrition around which security strategies for the policy statements were created. governance In 2017, ThetheGovernment Cabinet through its decision appreciates number 1stcontributions the resourceful /14.02.17/004 re-established and unbound the Food time spent by Security and Nutrition Council (FSNC). This was designed to promote partnerships between individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have government and developing been completed. Theirpartners and enhance contributions were efficiency in implementing mostly made food individual through direct and nutrition security interventions. consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography section. B9. Food production, preservation, and marketing interventions Finally, of The Ministry theAgriculture, Government is specifically Water and Landgrateful Reformto(MAWLR) UNICEF, is WFP, FAO, to mandated and USAID promote,for the develop, manage, and utilise agriculture and water resources sustainably. Over theand support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food Nutrition years, Security Government has Policy. embarked on various programmes and projects aiming at increasing food production in the country including the Green Scheme Programme, the Dryland Crop Production Programme, Comprehensive Conservation Agriculture, National Horticulture Development Initiative, Animal Health and Marketing in the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) initiative, Fresh Produce Business Hubs, Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust. Furthermore, it has increased the coverage and monthly payments of the social safety net, such as old-age pension grants and food aid. B10. Management of chronic and acute malnutrition The management of malnutrition is done within the primary health care system at the clinic, health centre and hospital levels. There is, however, a need to increase and sustain the quality and delivery uptake of the community-based management of acute malnutrition approach. B11. Maternal and child health care programs In 2003, MoHSS developed a National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF). The IYCF guidelines were revised in 2010 to include the new WHO recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding and the management of malnutrition in a high HIV environment. The Baby and Mother Friendly Hospital Initiative launched in 1992 should be revamped and all health facilities reassessed and supported to improve implementation and ensure quality service delivery is sustained. To support and promote breastfeeding, in March 2015 Namibia passed a xiii i XIII XIV II Public ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and Environmental Health Act to regulate marketing of breast milk substitutes in line with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for B12. Management of diet related non- communicable diseases valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries Further investigation are: Office of theis Prime required to establish Minister; Nationaloverweight Planning prevalence Commission;among school-age Ministry of Health and children andServices; Social adolescents. Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of B13. Higher Prevention Education,and control of and Technology micronutrient interventions Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of Micronutrient Industrialisation deficiencies and through are addressed Trade; a Ministry of combination Information of and including interventions Communication Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; salt iodisation, iron/folic acid supplementation for pregnant women in health facilities, Ministry of Fisheries and vitamin A Marinefor supplementation Resources; Ministry children and of Environment, food-based fortification Forestry approachesand Tourism; for all age and Regionals Councils. groups. A comprehensive and integrated approach for managing micronutrient deficiencies should be developed. Moreover, a micronutrient surveillance system should be established to The technical track progress inputs ofofthe and efficiency United Nations implementing agencies, the related in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and programmes. WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations B14. and Industrial the private food sector are fortification highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions programmes provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. Major cereal industries in Namibia are already undertaking voluntary fortification of maize meal and Thewheat flour withappreciates Government government-recommended the resourceful micronutrients. contributions At andpresent, thesetime unbound fortified spent by industrial products are not easily accessible to rural populations who are the most vulnerable individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not to have micronutrient-related been malnutrition. completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the B15. Agri-business and bio-fortification interventions bibliography section. The revised Namibia Agriculture Policy of 2015 identifies the need to increase and diversify food Finally, thein all production Government areas ofisthe specifically grateful country with to UNICEF, special emphasisWFP, on FAO, and USAID increasing droughtfor the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food tolerant varieties, crop diversification and conservation agriculture including organic and Nutrition Security Policy. agriculture. B16. Water and sanitation and hygiene interventions While water supply in Namibia has improved significantly since independence, hygiene, and sanitation indicators in rural areas and in school settings are still a major concern for public health. A national Water Supply and Sanitation Policy was developed in 2008 to safeguard availability of safe water supply and guarantee safe sanitation services to everyone in Namibia at affordable costs. Improvements in equitable access to safe water supply and effective hygiene and sanitation promotion are needed to prevent faecal – oral transmission of infectious bacteria. B17. Institutional nutrition programmes In 2000, the Namibian Home Economics Advisory Board initiated the development of Namibian Food and Nutrition Dietary Guidelines to provide guidance on healthy food choices. The Namibian School Feeding Programme (NSFP) has been in existence for 29 years. Started by the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1991, it was fully taken over by the Namibian Government in 1996/1997. xiv i XIV XV II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT B18. Social protection for vulnerable people Despite relatively good economic growth, and recent stable employment growth, Namibia’s The Government population of susceptible continues to be Namibia istospecifically grateful poverty. About 44%tof all thesenior government population officers for live in multi- valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices dimensional poverty. It is higher in rural (359%) than in urban areas (25%). The Government and Ministries are: Office has enacted of the various Prime Minister; legislations National that provide socialPlanning protectionCommission; Ministry in the country. of Health and The National Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Planning Commission report of 2015 outlines root causes of poverty and interventions, most Gender Equality, Poverty of which Eradication andsocial are non-contributory Socialprotection Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of instruments. Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; B19. Safety, Ministry of standards, and quality Industrialisation control of and Trade; food of Information and Communication Ministry The Government has put in place the Namibia Food Safety&Policy Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations Employment Creation; being that is currently Ministry of Fisheries implemented and Marine through Resources; However, several ministries. Ministry several of Environment, Forestry challenges have beenand Tourism; and experienced Regionals Councils. since the start of the food safety policy implementation. This policy through the coordination structure will provide a basis for the food safety key players to address issues that have, The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and hitherto, impeded for the full implementation of the food safety policy of Namibia. WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations B20. Integratedand the and Food private sectorSecurity Nutrition are highly acknowledged. Information SystemOverall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with technical support from WFP and UNICEF developed The Namibia Government Food and Nutrition appreciates Security Monitoring the resourceful contributionsSystem (FNSMIS),time and unbound whichspent by incorporates nutrition individuals indicators during following the revision a policy of thisCabinetwithout decision to provide which this accurate documentand timely would not have information been and analysis about completed. Their the prevailing food contributions wereandmostly nutrition situation made in thedirect through country. A individual parallel system, Namibia consultations, Vulnerability workshop Assessment forums and Committee sharing of (NAMVAC), is valuable reference tasked with materials the in the included functions of collecting bibliography vulnerability information including confirmation on the prevailing food section. security status and tracking indicators to inform early warning on impending disasters, guidingFinally, rural the Government is development specifically strategies, grateful to and informing UNICEF, poverty WFP,and reduction FAO, andsafety social USAID netfor the programming. However, NAMVAC is dependent on donor funding and its sustainabilityNutrition support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and is SecurityWithin questionable. Policy. the MAWLR, the Crop and Household Food Security Monitoring Assessments (CHFSM) and Agricultural Inputs and Household Food Security Monitoring (AIHFSM) assessments are conducted through the Agro-Business Information Services. However, data collected on food availability both at household and national levels only focus on cereals i.e., maize, sorghum, pearl millet and wheat. B21. Food and nutrition technical capacity The Nutrition Subdivision of the MoHSS Directorate of Primary Health Care is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership on nutrition in the country and overseeing implementation of nutrition-specific interventions including the supply of supplementary and therapeutic feeds to manage acute malnutrition. However, it is grossly under-capacitated. The ongoing reform of the health sector is proposing three nutrition officers in each region. Now the Namibian University of Science and Technology is offering a four-year degree programme on Human Nutrition. However, it will take a while before the first batch of nutrition graduates are placed into the health system. B22. Advocacy, communication, and social mobilisation Communication, social mobilisation and advocacy for food and nutrition have been shown to be effective tools for changing food and nutrition-related behaviours, increased acceptance of interventions and subsequently reduction of malnutrition rates. In Namibia, the Namibia xv i XV XVI II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN) has been on the forefront in advocating for the enhancement of nutrition status of everyone in Namibia especially for children below the age of fiveThe years. In the effortoftoNamibia Government scale up is nutrition interventions, specifically Namibia grateful to wasgovernment all senior one of the “Early officers for Risers”valuable within the global SUN technical Movement contributions and was in the accepted revision of thisas a member policy. in 2011. Specific Offices and Ministries are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and B23. Operations research in Food and Nutrition Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender Equality, Currently, Namibia Poverty lacks a and Eradication dedicated Social National Research of Welfare; Ministry Strategy that Arts Education, incorporates operations and Culture; Ministry of research for food and Higher nutrition Education, security. Technology Through and this policy, Innovation; the of Urban Ministry Government andisRural committed to Development; ensuring that of Ministry operations research is and Industrialisation prioritized in program Trade; implementation, Ministry of monitoring and Information and Communication evaluation. This may call Technology; for of Ministry additional Labour, resource Industrialallocation Relationsand& capacity Employment development Creation; in all Ministry of sectors to increase Fisheries andthe use ofResources; Marine operationsMinistry researchofresults in food and Environment, nutrition Forestry and security Tourism; and programming. Regionals Councils. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography section. Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. xvi i XVI XVII II C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RATIONALE AND LEGAL ALIGNMENT C1. Introduction The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for To capture the broad valuable scope technical of the current contributions inPolicy, its name the revision was policy. of this expanded beyond Specific andFood the 1995 Offices Ministries and Nutrition Policy for Namibia to National Food and Nutrition Security Policy. The rationale are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and was toSocial showServices; the strong link between Ministry food security of Agriculture, Water and andLand nutrition. Reform;It Ministry was alsoofintended to Gender Equality, illustrate food security and nutrition as cornerstones for the realisation of the objectives of the Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of Constitution HigherofEducation, the Republic of Namibia. Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication C2. Rationale Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Over the past twoand Fisheries decades andResources; Marine since the promulgation Ministry of ofEnvironment, Food and Nutrition ForestryPolicy, andemerging Tourism; and evidence globally has Regionals provided impetus for coming up with new designs and implementation Councils. strategies for food and nutrition security programmes in Namibia. The trend indicates that The is a malnutrition technical inputs of the multi-causal United national Nations challenge agencies, that must be in particular addressed WFP,sectors by many UNICEF, usingFAOa and WHO and food systems statutory approach. institutions This will ensure as well as balanced non-governmental investment of organisations, resources throughout the civil value-society organisations chain from andfarm input supply, the private sector are production, highly aggregation, acknowledged. processing, Overall, marketing to their contributions consumption. provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. Food systems are complex adaptive systems composed of many diverse parts/actors whose The with interaction Government appreciates each other drives the the resourceful functioning contributions of the system. A and unbound dysfunction in onetime spent by sector individuals or by one actor hasduring the revision significant effects tofthe thisrest policy without of the whichnew actors. The thisFNSP document would therefore not have looks been completed. at coherent game-changing Their contributions actions and investmentswerethat mostly must be made through prioritised and direct undertakenindividual consultations, from seed and plantingworkshop stages toforums and sharing harvesting, storing, of valuable reference processing, materials marketing and included in the consumption, bibliography for both crop and section. livestock, so as to transform Namibia’s food system in a manner that improves food quality, availability, affordability and diversity, on the one hand, and food Finally,and consumption the dietary Government is on diversity specifically grateful the other, in to to order UNICEF, WFP, address all FAO, forms of and USAID for the malnutrition support with financial at every stage of the life-cycle. and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. Namibia’s experience has also shown several challenges related to implementation of food and nutrition security programmes but mostly related to global climatic changes, variations in food prices, poor marketing structures, income disparities and population dynamics. Furthermore, the country is faced with epidemics such as HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases that have largely affected national and household income, reduced productivity, and increased morbidity. The current policy is designed to put all these aspects into perspective and provide strategies that will effectively respond to the current national, regional, and global food and nutrition challenges. C3. Legal Alignment The Food and Nutrition Security Policy (FNSP) is well aligned to national sectoral policies, strategies, and the constitution, and contributes to aspirations of Harambee Prosperity Plan and the Zero Hunger Road Map. It resonates well with international conventions and declarations on food and nutrition, which the Government has ratified for the promotion of food and nutrition security. xvii i XVII XVIII II D.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES The implementation and governance of this Policy is founded on the following guiding principles: The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for • Namibia’s commitment to the Universal Human Rights. valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries • Commitment are: Office to of implement the Primethe recommendations Minister; of regional National Planning and global initiatives. Commission; Ministry of Health and • Equity Socialin access to Services; and of Ministry implementation Agriculture, of nutrition Water and interventions Land Reform; moreof Gender Ministry specifically, Equality, eliminating gender and other inequalities to help address some of the underlying causes Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of of vulnerability to Higher malnutrition. Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of • Effective Industrialisation coordination within and and across Trade; sectors. Ministry of Information and Communication Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial • Community empowerment and effective involvement Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of with incentives. Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and • Decentralization of adequate tools, resources and governance systems. Regionals Councils. • Scaling-up of evidence-based interventions. Thesystems • Food technical inputs of theapproach transformation United that Nations agencies, provides betterin particular food to moreWFP, UNICEF, FAO and people. WHO and statutory • Life course approach. institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions • Accountability and participation. provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. E. POLICY DIRECTION The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by E1. Vision during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have individuals Optimal foodcompleted. been Their and nutrition contributions security for a healthywere mostly made and productive nation.through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography E2. Mission section. To provide integrated, Finally, affordable, the Government is accessible, specificallyand equitable, grateful quality food to UNICEF, WFP,and nutrition FAO, securityfor the and USAID services that are support responsive with financialtoand thetechnical needs of expertise the population. towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. E3. Goal To ensure that the population has access to adequate, affordable, safe, quality food and water throughout their life cycle that always meets their nutrient requirements for optimal healthy and productive lives. E4. Policy Objectives Objective 1 By 2030, reduce the prevalence of undernourishment from 30.9% to 15% and maintain overweight and obesity among children under five years of age below 5%, by facilitating the provision of adequate food and nutrition for mothers and children and ensuring optimal health and productivity of the people of Namibia throughout their lifecycle. Objective 2 By 2030, increase domestic food production of local consumption from 30% to 60% and enhance processing, marketing, and consumption of food to improve access to nutritious and safe food for the populace of Namibia at all times. Objective 3 By 2030, reduce prevalence of stunting from 24% to 12% through nutrition- sensitive interventions and by ensuring access to health care services, sanitation, hygiene, education, and social protection programmes for all people in Namibia. xviii i XVIII XIX II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Objective 4 By 2025, increase investment in food and nutrition security by at least 10% of national budget annually and ensure an enabling environment of effective The Government of and coordination implementation. Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries E5. Government Policy Objectives, Rationale and Strategies are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and PolicySocial Objective 1: By Services; 2030, of Ministryreduce the prevalence Agriculture, Water of undernourishment and Land from of Reform; Ministry 30.9% Genderto 15% Equality, and maintain overweight and Poverty Eradication and Social obesityWelfare; among Ministry children of under five years Education, ofand Arts age below Culture;5%, by Ministry of facilitating Higherthe provision of Education, adequate Technology andfood and nutrition Innovation; Ministryforofmothers Urban andandRural children and Development; ensuring optimal Ministry of health and productivity Industrialisation and of the people Trade; of of Ministry Namibia throughoutand Information their lifecycle. Communication Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and The Government Regionals of Namibia commits itself to the following strategic measures that are Councils. designed to address the underlying and immediate causes of malnutrition: The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and • WHOStrategy 1.1statutory and Increase coverage ofas institutions evidence-based high impact nutrition-specific well as non-governmental organisations, civil society interventions aimed at preventing all forms of malnutrition. organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. • Strategy 1.2 Increase coverage of interventions for the management and treatment of acute malnutrition by documenting and sharing best practices at The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by national, regional and global levels. individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have • been completed. Strategy 1.3 Their Growth Implement contributions were Monitoring andmostly Promotionmade through direct individual programmes. consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the • bibliography Strategy 1.4 section. Prevention and control of micronutrient disorders. • Finally, Strategythe

1.5 Government Promotion is specifically of optimal grateful to maternal UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the nutrition. support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition StrategyPolicy. • Security 1.6 Prevention and management of over-nutrition and related non- communicable diseases. • Strategy 1.7 Promotion of optimal nutritional care for people living with HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases. • Strategy 1.8 Promotion of universal access and utilisation of quality primary health care services to all people. • Strategy 1.9 Develop nutrition preparedness and response plans for emergency situations Interventions. Policy Objective 2: By 2030, increase domestic food production of local consumption from 30% to 60% and enhance processing, marketing, and consumption of food to improve access to nutritious and safe food for the populace of Namibia at all times. The revised Namibia Agricultural Policy provides direction for increasing crop and livestock production, increasing household income through agro-business development, and promoting marketing and trade of Namibian safe, raw and processed agricultural products. The objective will be achieved through the following strategies: xix i XIX XX II • ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Strategy 2.1 Strengthening local production of safe and nutritious foods especially by smallholders’ farmers. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for • Strategy 2.2 Improve both physical and economic access to safe and nutritious foods at valuable technical contributions household levels. in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health and • Social Services; Strategy 2.3 Ministry of Improve Agriculture, processing, Waterand storage andpreservation Land Reform;ofMinistry of Gender nutritious Equality, foods and Poverty Eradication reduceand Social food Welfare; waste and Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of loss. Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Strategy 2.4 • Ministry Strengthening capacity of Industrialisation for implementation and Trade; Ministry of ofInformation nutrition-sensitive and Communication intervention within the agriculture sector. Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and • Strategy 2.5 Strengthening the resilience capacity of households to various shocks. Regionals Councils. • Strategy 2.6 Promotion of agricultural approaches that mitigate the negative impact on The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and nutrition. WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations • Strategy 2.7 and theaprivate Create sector conducive, are and healthy,highly acknowledged. safe food industry. Overall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. • Strategy 2.8 Promote irrigation development and integrated water resources The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by management. individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have Strategy • been 2.9 Promote completed. Theirenvironmental contributionssystems were and land made mostly management throughfor direct sustainable individual agriculture development. consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography section. Policy Objective 3: By 2030, reduce prevalence of stunting from 24% to 12% through nutrition-sensitive interventions Finally, the Government is and by ensuring specifically access grateful to health care to UNICEF, WFP,services, FAO, andsanitation, USAID for the hygiene, education, support and social with financial andprotection technical programmes for allthe expertise towards people in Namibia revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. To address the underlying determinants of malnutrition, the following strategic actions will be undertaken: • Strategy 3.1 Enhance and sustain equitable access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation interventions. • Strategy 3.2 Improve school nutrition and nutrition awareness. • Strategy 3.3 Promote social protection interventions for improved nutrition. • Strategy 3.4 Enhance women empowerment for improved nutrition status of household members and communities. Policy Objective 4: By 2030, increase investment in food and nutrition security by at least 10% of the national budget annually and ensure an enabling environment for effective coordination and implementation. In this Policy, the enabling environment for food and nutrition will be reinforced through four major strategies as follows: xx i XX XXI II • ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Strategy 4.1 Enhanced capacity for food and nutrition security policy implementation. • Strategy 4.2 Strengthening Integrated Food and Nutrition Information management The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for system for improved decision-making and programming at all levels. valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries • are: Office Strategy 4.3of the PrimeaMinister; Enhance Nationalin and national interest Planning Commission; commitment Ministry of to improving Health and nutrition Social Services; programmes Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; through functional communication plan. Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; Ministry of • Strategy 4.4 Higher Enhance Education, sustained Technology commitment, and Innovation;governance, Ministry ofand resources. Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication • Strategy 4.5 Mainstream food and nutrition security into national, sectoral, regional, Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of and local plans and promote common result-based frameworks. Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and • Regionals Councils. Strategy 4.6 Develop appropriate food and nutrition security legislations, regulatory instruments, and guidelines. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and • WHO and Strategy 4.7statutory institutions Strengthen as legal policy and well framework as non-governmental organisations, for coordination, planning, civil society organisations and the private monitoring and sector are for evaluation highly acknowledged. food and Overall, nutrition security their contributions activities. provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. F. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND COORDINATION The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by The responsibility for implementation of the policy framework lies with all stakeholders across individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have different government ministries and agencies, development partners, private sector, academia been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual and civil society organisations. A multi-sectoral governance system will be strengthened to consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the ensure effective coordination and accountability. bibliography section. F1. Governance and Coordination Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the The support Government will with provideand financial overall leadership technical of the expertise policy the revision towards implementation with of this assistance Food and Nutrition from Security development Policy. partners, civil society organisations, and research and academic institutions. It will establish a four level Food and Nutrition Security Coordination mechanism for Namibia from the (i) national, (ii) regional, (iii) constituency, and (iv) community levels. F2. Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities Given the multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder nature of this policy, the proposed actions will be implemented through a coherent and coordinated approach, which will foster collaboration between line ministries, regional and local authorities, development partners, CSOs, training and research institutions and private sector. Therefore, responsibility for implementation will be shared among stakeholders and there will be both individual and collective accountability for results. F3. Legal and Regulatory Arrangements The National Food and Nutrition Security Policy derives from the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, Article 95, paragraph (j) which stipulates that: “consistent planning to raise and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living of the Namibian people and to improve public health”. This policy aligns with the country's national development priorities. Namibia’s Vision 2030 provides the foundation for principles of nutrition security; and the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP-5) and Harambe Prosperity Plans which are the main instrument for implementing policies and programmes aimed at achieving Vision 2030. The revised policy xxi i XXI XXII II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT also aligns with objectives of several sector policies, strategies and programmes as well as regulatory frameworks that impact food and nutrition security. The Government of Namibia is specifically grateful to all senior government officers for G.valuable RESOURCE MOBILISATION technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and Ministries are: Office Government will of the aPrime create Minister; budget line National for food Planning security and nutrition Commission; Ministry resources of cycle for each Health and Social Services; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Gender of the implementation plan. All stakeholders shall budget for and secure own financial, human Equality, Povertyresources and material Eradication to and Social ensure Welfare; Ministry effective of of implementation Education, Arts activities theyand Culture; are Ministry of responsible for. Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Regionals Councils. The technical inputs of the United Nations agencies, in particular WFP, UNICEF, FAO and WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the private sector are highly acknowledged. Overall, their contributions provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. The Government appreciates the resourceful contributions and unbound time spent by individuals during the revision of this policy without which this document would not have been completed. Their contributions were mostly made through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the bibliography section. Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition Security Policy. xxii i XXII XXIII II H. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK Through the monitoring process, lead implementers and co-partners will be charged with the The Government responsibility of Namibia of identifying potential is specifically gaps grateful tooutline in implementation, all senior areasgovernment officers for of improvement and account for their activities and resource utilisation. The monitoring reports will gaugeMinistries valuable technical contributions in the revision of this policy. Specific Offices and the level and quality of stakeholder engagement and track progress of achieving the intended and are: Office of the Prime Minister; National Planning Commission; Ministry of Health policy Social Services; outcomes. LeadMinistry of Agriculture, implementers will submit Water and annually at least Land Reform; their Ministry monitoringof Gender reportsEquality, to Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; Ministry of Education, Arts the Food and Nutrition Security Steering Committee (FNSSC) and the FNSC Secretariat or as and Culture; Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of often as mandated by the FNSC- steering committee. The information obtained shouldUrban and Rural Development; Ministry contribute towardsof the Industrialisation mid-term policy and Trade; Ministry of Information and Communication review. Technology; Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation; Ministry of I. Fisheries ADVOCACY and Marine AND Resources; DISSEMINATION Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Regionals Councils. The launch of the endorsed Policy will be publicised through television, radio, and print media in all Namibia’s The technicallanguages inputs ofinthe order to raise United Nationsawareness agencies,of in theparticular existenceWFP, of the document. UNICEF, FAO and Following the adoption of the Policy, all relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation WHO and statutory institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, civil society will beorganisations availed with copies and the(print andsector private soft). Copies will acknowledged. are highly be provided to Overall, academictheir institutions contributions and libraries and made available for online access on the website of relevant provided benchmarks around which strategies for the policy statements were created. institutions. Plain language summary of the Policy will be developed and other formats of the documents for advocacy The purposes Government will be developed appreciates thefor the high-level resourceful decision and contributions makers and time unbound traditional spent by leaders. Finally, individuals a during communication and of the revision social mobilisation this policy withoutplan for which food thisand nutritionwould document security not have will bebeen developed to support completed. and enhance Their implementation contributions were mostly of themade action plan. through direct individual consultations, workshop forums and sharing of valuable reference materials included in the J. bibliography POLICY REVISIONsection. The current Policy shall be revised as national priorities change and new evidence becomes Finally, the Government is specifically grateful to UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and USAID for the available, upon an in-depth evaluation of the implementation of the Policy and related action support with financial and technical expertise towards the revision of this Food and Nutrition plans. Security Policy. K. IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN A detailed Implementation Action Plan of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy has been developed through a multi-sectoral approach (supplementary document). The costed multi- sectoral Implementation Action Plan incorporates specific activities required to achieve the policy objectives, indicates the lead implementer and co-partners, strategic outcomes, activities, outputs, output indicators, baseline indicators, annual targets, and related costs. L. CONCLUSION The Revised National Food and Nutrition Security Policy (2021) has built on the achievements of the Namibia Food and Nutrition Policy (1995). Implementation of the Policy will be done through a well-coordinated multisectoral institutional framework. The Food and Nutrition Security Council will be revived and strengthened to fulfil this function. The Government will support the implementation of this Policy by creating an enabling environment to integrate and implement food and nutrition security interventions in all sectors and into regional, district and constituency development plans and to establish platforms for lesson sharing. xxiii i XXIII XXIV II 1. INTRODUCTION This Food and Nutrition Security Policy (FNSP) is a revision of the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy for Namibia. The revised policy forms the basis for food and nutrition security actions that consider national progress and challenges raised in the NDP5 and the Zero Hunger strategy review report (2016). It recognises food and nutrition as universal rights essential for the physical, mental, and emotional development of children and the quality of life for adults. Overall, the ultimate objective of the Namibia Food and Nutrition Security Policy is to ensure that everyone in Namibia has access to adequate, affordable, safe, sustainable, and quality diets capable of always meeting their nutrient requirements for healthy and productive lives. The process of revising the Food and Nutrition Policy (1995) into this current Policy was initiated in 2015 by the Ministry of Health and Social Services in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. An extensive review of relevant documents was conducted to provide background information and update the policy document. The key documents reviewed included; The Fifth National Development Plan, Zero Hunger Road Map, Harambee Prosperity Plan, Namibia’s Vision 2030, National Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, the Sustainable Development Goals, The Scaling Up of Nutrition Country Implementation Plan, the Food and Nutrition Policy (1995), periodic and annual Food and Nutrition Security Assessment Reports, Demographic & Health Survey reports, MEAL SUN movement framework, National Nutrition Monitoring & Evaluation framework, National Food and Nutrition security implementation plan. In addition, extensive stake- holder consultation meetings were held with technical persons from line Ministries, United Nations agencies, NGOs, Academic Institutions, and the Private Sector. Further, in August 2018 fact-finding field trips were conducted to selected regions (Khomas, Zambezi and Erongo). The revised Policy contains five major sections, an implementation plan and a monitoring and evaluation tools to support its implementation. The sections are: Section one: Introduction and Background information. This section mainly provides the methodology for revising the policy and detailed situation analysis for various segments that contribute towards food and nutrition security in Namibia. Section 2: Rationale, Legal alignment, and Guiding Principles for the policy. The section explains the rationale for revising the policy document and explains how it addresses policy gaps on food and nutrition security in the country. It shows the strong link between food security and nutrition and brings forth the multi-disciplinary nature of nutrition. The revised policy was also intended to illustrate food security and nutrition as cornerstones for the realisation of the objectives of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia and how it is anchored in Namibia’s Vision 2030. Section 3: Policy Goals, Objectives, and Strategies. The section provides policy direction, including vision, mission, goals, and objectives of the policy and highlights several strategies and related activities under each objective that are intended to address the multi-sectoral 1 1 nature of food and nutrition security. The key interventions are food security, nutrition- specific, nutrition-sensitive oriented, and the related enabling environmental sectors. Section 4: Institutional Arrangements and Coordination Mechanism. This section contains the Policy institutional arrangements and coordination framework for government ministries and agencies. The Government will provide overall leadership of the policy implementation with assistance from development partners, civil society organisations, and research and academic institutions. Further, the section stipulates how the Policy will be implemented and co-ordinated at the national and sub national levels to achieve its goal and objectives. It highlights the role and responsibilities of the various line ministries and other stakeholders involved in promoting food and nutrition security in the country. Section 5: Implementation Action Plan for the Policy. The section focuses on describing the costed multi-sectoral implementation action framework for this Policy. It takes into account existing government implementation plans and strategies aligned to food and nutrition security issues in the nation. The plan incorporates specific activities required to achieve the policy objectives, indicates the lead implementer and co-partners, strategic outcomes, activities, outputs, output indicators, baseline indicators, annual targets, and related costs. The implementation action is a supplementary document to this Policy (Supplementary document 1). The Policy ends with a conclusion and bibliography.

1.1 Background information

1.1.1 Past efforts to address Food and Nutrition concerns in Namibia (1995-2017) Namibia’s first Food and Nutrition Policy of 1995 placed emphasis on improving the nutrition status of the population through increasing the quantity and quality of food eaten to provide adequate and nutritious food for all, empowering households to use the resources to improve childcare, feeding practices, and their hygiene and sanitation environment and provision of adequate levels of social and supporting services. Subsequently, the Food Security and Nutrition Action Plan 1995 was developed and provided an elaborate strategic framework for the implementation of the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy. The objectives of the policy were to be achieved through community empowerment and participation in health and nutrition programmes. In 2010, Namibia Cabinet Decision (No. 17th/23.11.10/001) established the Namibia Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN), a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder platform aimed at enhancing nutrition status of Namibians especially children below the age of five years. The goal was to coordinate activities of Government, private sector, NGOs, UN agencies and academia in the field of nutrition and promote accountability on nutrition programmes in the country. To scale up nutrition interventions, Namibia was one of the “Early Risers” within the global SUN Movement and was accepted as a member in 2011. The Namibia Scaling-Up of Nutrition Country Implementation Plan (SUNCIP) 2012-2016 was developed and it emphasized a multi- 2 2 sectoral approach in tackling malnutrition through implementation of both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions across the country.

1.1.2 Achievements for implementing the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy Since its implementation, significant progress has been made with regards to coordination at national, regional and constituency level; accountability, reporting on activities, collaboration among government line ministries, management of malnutrition in emergency situations, integration of nutrition assessment, counselling and support for government health system and capacitation of community health programmes.

1.1.3 Lessons learned from implementation of the Food and Nutrition Policy 1995 The key lessons generated during the implementation of the Food and Nutrition Policy 1995, have informed the revision of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy. These lessons are: • The Food and Nutrition Policy, 1995 had a limited scope in that it did not consider the multi-sectoral and holistic approaches required to tackle and overcome the underlying and immediate causes of malnutrition, • Objectives of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy can be realized through consistent and adequate funding, • Adequate and capacitated human resource are required to drive food and nutrition programmes in the country and deliberate efforts must be made to ensure that the Government puts in place nutrition focused educational programmes at institutions of higher learning in Namibia, • There is need to develop and strengthen an integrated health information management system that can capture and provide real time data on key food and nutrition security indicators, • To ensure effective policy implementation, the development of a detailed food and nutrition security implementation plan outlining an effective monitoring and evaluation system should be put in place, • Effective and efficient response to emergency averts human suffering and death especially for the most vulnerable members of the community, • Sustainable nutrition well-being of a population can be realised through the implementation of both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions, • Namibia is experiencing a nutrition transition due to a growing number of urban and peri-urban dwellers. The nutrition transition involves changes in diet and lifestyle that has resulted into an increase in obesity and over-weight people and consequently increased prevalence of lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases, • There is a need for a strong linkage between agriculture, nutrition, and health to promote production and consumption of adequate and diversified diets. To mitigate nutrient deficiencies especially micronutrients, food processing of staple foods should be accompanied by clear standards on fortification with micronutrients, and • Strengthening inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms is essential for effective and efficient policy implementation. 3 3

1.2 Namibia Socio-Economic Situation Namibia is categorised as an upper middle-income country with a population of 2.5 million estimated for 2020 and a per capita income of USD3,217.64 in 2020. [1] [2}. This middle-income status masks extreme poverty and inequalities amongst the population and regions. Although Namibia registered a general reduction in poverty incidence between 2003/04 and 2015/16, 17.4%of the population remains poor [3]. Namibia's imports exceed its exports resulting in a trade deficit. The country mainly relies on South Africa for imports. The country imports 50 to 80 percent of its food requirements [8]. Malnutrition contributes to more than 45% of all deaths in children under five years of age, therefore becoming the single biggest contributor to child mortality globally. The economic cost of malnutrition is estimated to contribute up to 11% losses in GDP every year in Asia and Africa [4]. Other indirect losses for a country’s economy are, malnourished children have poor cognitive function that results to poor school performance, reduced school attainment, [5] and eventually deprived skills. In Namibia, more than half of poor households are in rural areas and engaged in subsistence farming. These rural areas are a home to the most vulnerable, entangled in vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition.

1.3 Climate Change situation Namibia is agro-climatologically classified as semi-arid to arid receiving rainfall of up to 700 mm per year [6]. More adversely, the country has experienced extreme variability in weather conditions within the last four years due to climatic changes, which has greatly affected agricultural production exacerbating household food insecurity and malnutrition. During the NDP4 period, the agriculture sector experienced a significant contraction of 1.7% in real terms against the real growth sector performance target of 4% [7]. This poor performance was attributed to the effects of climate change associated with frequent droughts, floods, crop pests, and livestock disease outbreaks. Thus, the prevalence and intensity of natural disasters are predicted to continue to increase because of climate change. Overall, climate change is a critical threat to sustainable development, because of that, the Government of Namibia has developed a national climate change policy document (2011) and a multi-sectoral strategic and action plan (2013-2020) implemented through the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) to effectively respond to the complex challenges of climate change related shocks.

1.4 Food Security situation Vision 2030 of the global agenda on Food and Nutrition Security seeks to significantly reduce the relative number of undernourished people and that food security will be guaranteed on a sustainable basis through: a) Significant transformation of agriculture production systems through investments, research, and training 4 4 b) Maintenance of an adequate enabling environment in rural areas through rural development strategies c) Establish a food system where production and consumption are balanced at local, regional, and global levels d) A large demand-driven food system where responsible consumer behaviour shapes sustainable objectives In 2016, a food and nutrition security assessment indicated that 34% of the Namibian population was food insecure. Later, in 2017, the Global Hunger Index Score declined to 25.7 from 30.9 recorded in 2008 [10] depicting a serious hunger situation in Namibia. Further findings of the food and nutrition security assessment indicated 28.8% of Namibians were undernourished [11]. Hence, Namibian’s aspiration and long-term vision is to achieve food self-sufficiency by the year 2030 through farm mechanisation and industrialisation, among others.

1.4.1 Food availability, access, utilisation, and stability In Namibia, the major staple crops are white maize, wheat, pearl millet and sorghum. Livestock products are mainly from cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Whereas Namibia is a surplus producer for beef, the country remains food insufficient because of fluctuation of crop production over the years. Cereal production attains only 60% of its domestic requirements and the remaining 40% is imported from the SADC region [12]. Factors impeding availability, access and utilisation of nutritious foods in subsistence-based households include high levels of poverty, inequality in income distribution, chronic drought and recurrent water shortages resulting in death of animals and crop failures, widespread soil erosion and land degradation, limited income-generating opportunities and restrictions on women’s access to, and control over land and resources.

1.4.2 Food security for indigenous communities Among these communities, the gathering of bush food is still an important livelihood strategy. However, it is highly seasonal and limited in most areas by lack of access to land. Formal employment is a major determinant of food security, mostly because it offers regular cash income, but employment opportunities for individuals from indigenous people remain limited.

1.5 Nutrition situation in Namibia In the last two decades, there has been significant government investment in health and nutrition programs. However, malnutrition remains a major development concern in Namibia, affecting all regions of the country and hitting hard on the most vulnerable segments of the population. The current levels of malnutrition hinder Namibia’s human, social, and economic development. This high burden of malnutrition in Namibia is not only a threat to achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2030, but also a clear indication of inadequate realisation of human rights. 5 5

1.5.1 Nutrition status of the maternal, new-borns, infants, and early childhood Since independence, the proportion of undernourished children under five years old has steadily declined. The demographic health survey of 2013 indicated that, of the under five- year old children; 24% are stunted, 6% wasted and 13% underweight [15]. While there is a commendable 5 percentage points decline in stunting when compared to previous data presented in NDHS 2006/7, the current level of stunting is a clear reflection of persistent low food intake and recurrent or chronic infections [16]. According to the not yet published Cost of Hunger in Namibia Report, stunting increased to 30.4% by 20162. Further, poor nutrition status of mothers has resulted in 13% of Namibian babies being born with a low birth weight (birth weight below 2.5 kg). Although exclusive breastfeeding rate during the first six months of life has improved from 24% to 49% between 2006 and 2013 respectively, only 13% of 6-23 months children are fed in accordance with the three-core infant and young child feeding practices (minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and appropriate complementary feedings).

1.5.2 Nutrition status of adolescents, adult women, and the elderly The 2013 NDHS assessment of adolescents between 15-19 years showed that 50% and 26.7% of males and females respectively had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of below 18.5% indicating that they were thinner than their counterparts of 20 years and above. In general, 14% of women of childbearing age (15-49 years) were thin (BMI below 18.5) due to insufficient energy intake, with the prevalence being higher in the rural areas compared to the urban areas. At the same time, 32% of women were overweight (BMI between 24.9 and 29.9) or obese (BMI above 30). This co-existence of undernutrition and overweight, suggests that Namibia is undergoing a nutrition transition with overweight or obesity being more of a public health concern than underweight in women because of its association to non-communicable diseases.

1.5.3 Micronutrient Deficiencies The status of the most common micronutrients deficiencies like vitamin A, iodine, and zinc is not well documented in Namibia. According to the NDHS 2013, anaemia, which is an indication of iron deficiency, affects 48% of children aged 6-59 months and 21% of women of childbearing age. Nearly 76% of households use iodised salt in the country. Error! Bookmark not defined.WHO recommends availability and use of adequately iodised salt of >15 ppm. Moreover, WHO defines adequate coverage of iodine utilisation when more than 90% of households are using iodised salt [19]. The Namibian rural community has not attained this threshold. Antenatal maternal night blindness has been reported in Namibia, an indication of severe vitamin A deficiency in pregnancy [16]. In addition to poor nutrient intake, intestinal parasites such as helminths and Schistosomiasis aggravate micronutrient inadequacy, but only 43% of children under the age of five years of age receive deworming medication as a complementary measure to improve micronutrient status. 2Cost of Hunger in Namibia – Namibia Country Report, Draft 5, September 2021, p.33. In the following we continue to reference the DHS 2013. 6 6

1.5.4 Over nutrition/Obesity and Diet related non-communicable diseases NDHS 2013 data show an increasing trend in overweight from 28% to 31.4% and obesity from 11.7% to 13.2% in 2007 and 2013, respectively. Over-nutrition is associated with diet-related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, some cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory illnesses. In Namibia, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory illnesses are among the top 15 causes of death [16]. In the recent past, Namibia has experienced change in people’s lifestyle and eating habits due to effects of urbanisation and globalisation. Consistent consumption of commercially processed food products that contain high levels of saturated fats and simple carbohydrates and sugars, coupled with sedentary lifestyle are prime causes of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. Another contributing factor to NCDs is alcohol abuse, which is highly prevalent in Namibia. Effective prevention and control of NCDs face many challenges such as lack of adequate data for effective planning of interventions, the shortage of specialist health professionals, equipment, and transport to health care services.

1.6 Health status for vulnerable population in Namibia The 2013 NDHS report shows that diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection and fever are the most common infections among children under five years in Namibia. Additionally, Malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB, and other infectious diseases are risk factors for undernutrition. Long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying are part of the integrated strategy for malaria prevention but only 24% of households have at least one insecticide-treated mosquito net (ITN), and a minimal 6% of children under 5 years sleep under the ITN. In 2014, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS was estimated at 16.9% of the population. The HIV AIDS prevalence among pregnant women was estimated at 17.2% in 2016 [20], positioning Namibia at the sixth position of the most affected countries worldwide. HIV is a significant cause of severe and moderate acute malnutrition, with an estimated increase of 30% mortality for children living with HIV admitted in nutrition programs [21]. Global evidence [21] shows that HIV-positive rates in nutrition programs can be as high as 24% in patient nutrition recuperation units. Additionally, people living with HIV, especially children, have an altered intake, absorption and metabolism of macronutrients and lack of essential micronutrients in the body weaken the immune system and increase the risk of mortality.

1.7 Namibia Water, Sanitation and Hygiene situation Access to safe water is essential for good health and nutrition. Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions can contribute to 59% reduction in diarrhoea [22]. Access to improved sanitation and hygiene is low in rural and informal urban settlements. According to 2013 NDHS, only 49% and 17% of households in urban and rural areas respectively have access to improved water and sanitation conditions and about 48% of the population practice open defecation and 34% of households use improved and individual household-based toilet facilities. Further, about 20% of schools do not have access to toilets, majority of these are located in flood prone areas, thus increasing the risk of faecal contamination. Moreover, 7 7 results from the NDHS 2013, showed a correlation between stunting and lack of access to sanitation in young children. For example, regions with highest rates of open defecation reported highest rates of stunting.

1.8 Status of food and nutrition interventions, gaps and opportunities Since independence, many programmes have been developed and implemented by the Government with support from various Organisations to address food and nutrition insecurity in Namibia. The sections below outline the various efforts made by the government to mitigate the food and nutrition security in the country.

1.8.1 Food and nutrition security governance The Food and Nutrition Security Policy is hinged on the notion that overcoming malnutrition requires multi-sectoral collaboration, a strong coordination mechanism and political will because causes of malnutrition are complex and interconnected. A more sustainable solution relies on different sectors of the government working in a coordinated manner with related stakeholders. It is essential that these stakeholders have representations working at the national level and at the lowest level of operation, in this case the constituency level. In 2017, the Cabinet through its decision number 1st/14.02.17/004 re-established the Food and Nutrition Security Council (FNSC). This necessitated the development of the Food and Nutrition Security Coordination system from the national to the community level) to ensure that food and nutrition interventions are integrated in development plans and budgets up to the subnational levels. At the same time this was designed to promote partnerships between government and developing partners and enhance efficiency in implementing food and nutrition security interventions.

1.8.2 Food production, preservation, and marketing interventions Over the years, the Nation has experienced fluctuation of cereal production causing unmet demands. Similarly, and within the same timeframes, livestock production showed fluctuating statistics, which were attributed to general poor rainfall conditions. Nonetheless, during the NDP4 period, the total area under irrigation increased by 800ha while the National Strategic Food Reserve storage capacity increased from 14 000MT to 22 900MT which is only enough for about one month. However, plans are underway to increase the storage capacity to 67 000 metric tons by the year 2030, which is sufficient to sustain the country for a period of four months. A total of NAD178 million is required to meet this target in the next 10 years. Namibia is endowed with about 50 000 hectares of irrigable land. To date a total of 11,500 ha is under irrigation and is targeting to put about 27 000 hectares of land under irrigation by the year 2030. Government has embarked on various programmes and projects aiming at increasing food production in the country including the Green Scheme Programme, the Dryland Crop Production Programme, Comprehensive Conservation Agriculture, National Horticulture Development Initiative, Animal Health and Marketing in the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) initiative, Fresh Produce Business Hubs, Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust and Pension grants and food aid. 8 8

1.8.3 Management of chronic and acute malnutrition The management of malnutrition is done within the primary health care system at the clinic, health centre and hospital levels. The introduction of the health extension workers has the potential to increase the coverage and expands screening and management capacities. There is however, a need to increase and sustain the quality and delivery uptake of the community- based management of acute malnutrition approach. More assistance is needed to change poor nutrition practices at both the health facility and community settings.

1.8.4 Maternal and child health care programs In 2003, MoHSS developed a National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) [25] The IYCF guidelines were revised in 2010 to include the new WHO recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding and the management of malnutrition in a high HIV environment [26]. Launched in 1992, the Baby and Mother Friendly Hospital Initiative, which originally certified more than 35 health facilities [27, 28] should be revamped and all health facilities reassessed and supported to improve implementation and ensure quality service delivery is sustained. According to the Namibia Labour Act (1992 amended in 2007) [29, 30], employed pregnant women are entitled to three months maternity leave which possess several challenges for child and mother. First, the duration is not adequate to provide exclusive breastfeeding and protect the child. Second, breastfeeding women experience financial constraints because majority are on half pay. Third, the workplace environment does not provide suitable space for breastfeeding. Thus, this current policy aims to change this and state the Government’s commitment to explore further opportunities to promote exclusive breast feeding in these environs. The aggressive promotion of breast milk substitutes is a major hindrance to exclusive breastfeeding. However, in March 2015 Namibia passed a Public and Environmental Health Act [31] to regulate marketing of breast milk substitutes in line with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. This code is a set of regulations that if implemented can protect, support and promote breastfeeding.

1.8.5 Management of diet related non- communicable diseases Prevention of overweight and management of diet related non- communicable diseases is complex because factors that promote weight gain and obesity associated with non- communicable diseases depend on lifestyle. Although these diets related non-communicable diseases are currently being managed at the health facilities, they still require high level attention in Namibia. Further investigation is required to establish overweight prevalence among school age children and adolescents.

1.8.6 Prevention and control of micronutrient interventions Micronutrient deficiencies are addressed through a combination of interventions including salt iodization, iron/folic acid supplementation for pregnant women in health facilities, vitamin A supplementation for children and food-based fortification approaches for all age groups. Specifically, anaemia in children is currently being addressed through the expanded distribution of multi-micronutrient powders; deworming every six months for children ages 1 to 5 years, along with vitamin A distribution; and promotion of the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets for children under 5 years of age in malaria-endemic areas. A comprehensive 9 9 and integrated approach for managing micronutrient deficiencies should be developed. The approaches should include micronutrient supplementation, dietary approach, and food fortification and this can only happen if the current strategic framework for micronutrients supplementation is reviewed. Moreover, a micronutrient surveillance system should be established to track progress and efficiency of implementing the related programmes.

1.8.7 Industrial food fortification programmes Major cereal industries in Namibia are already undertaking voluntary fortification of maize meal and wheat flour with government recommended micronutrients. Other industrially processed products on the market such as oil and sugar are also fortified. Currently, there is no mandatory regulation or national guidelines on commercial food fortification for the general population. Such legislation is required to ensure imported oil and sugar are adequately fortified and quality and consistency of the local fortification process is guaranteed. At present, these fortified industrial products are not easily accessible to rural populations who are the most vulnerable to micronutrient related malnutrition. The most commonly consumed staple food product (Mahangu) is locally milled but not yet extensively fortified. Point-of-use home fortification using small sachets of micronutrient powders can be an efficient measure to include in community level nutrition programmes to ensure adequate micronutrient intake by the most at-risk group of the population.

1.8.8 Agri-business and bio-fortification interventions Agriculture is one of the key areas of focus that have been identified to reach the NDP-5 overarching goals to achieve inclusive, sustainable, and equitable economic growth, through increased agricultural production for cereals, horticulture, and livestock [34]. Soon after independence, the MAWLR launched a national crop improvement program with two major crops pearl millet (mahangu) and sorghum taking pre-eminence. Progress has been made in research in the development of drought resistant varieties for cowpeas, millet, and sorghum and on cassava and orange sweet potatoes production as a measure to ensure adequate supply of food crops [35] to meet the populations’ demand. Currently, a total area of 11 500 hectares is under irrigation countrywide and expected to be increased to 27 000 hectares by the year 2030 through the implementation of the Green Scheme program as outlined in the NDP-5. However, limited budget allocation, staff shortages, poor irrigation mechanisms and slow adoption of new varieties of horticultural products are some of the major challenges facing crop production in the country [34]. Thus, the development of agro-processing industries is geared towards utilizing local produce and regional value chains, increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers, enhancing animal health and production, supporting preparedness for effective response, recovery and reconstruction and the planting of drought resistant varieties. The revised Namibia Agriculture Policy of 2015 identifies the need to increase and diversify food production in all areas of the country with special emphasis on increasing drought tolerant varieties, crop diversification and conservation agriculture including organic agriculture. It provides an opportunity to support the most food insecure farmers to grow 10 10 more nutritious cereal, vegetable and fruit crops for own consumption and sale at the local markets for income generation.

1.8.9 Water and Sanitation and hygiene interventions While water supply in Namibia has improved significantly since independence, hygiene, and sanitation indicators in rural areas and in school settings are still a major concern for public health. A national Water Supply and Sanitation Policy was developed in 2008 to safeguard availability of safe water supply and guarantee safe sanitation services to everyone in Namibia at affordable costs. Given the high prevalence and related consequences of open defecation in rural Namibia, a communication strategy to address the issue was developed to provide guidance to stakeholders and improve behaviour change and knowledge of the most vulnerable population [23]. Improvements in equitable access to safe water supply and effective hygiene and sanitation promotion are needed to prevent faecal – oral transmission of infectious bacteria. One of the greatest challenges to achieving this lies within the institutions responsible for water and sanitation. The mandate for implementation of water and sanitation intervention falls under several line ministries, which requires but currently do not have, a strong coordination mechanism. In this current policy, this coordination may be attained through the water, environment, and sanitation coordination mechanism under the FNSC.

1.8.10 Institutional nutrition programmes In 2000, the Namibian Home Economics Advisory Board initiated the development of Namibian Food and Nutrition Dietary Guidelines to provide guidance on healthy food choices. The guidelines were endorsed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. They were developed to promote a healthy lifestyle and diet for the population of Namibia. To make the dietary recommendations visual, the food guide was developed as a practical guide for menu planning in various institutions including school feeding programmes

1.8.10.1 School feeding programmes The Namibian School Feeding Programme (NSFP) has been in existence for 29 years. Started by the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1991, it was fully taken over by the Namibian Government in 1996/1997. Currently, the programme supports approximately 1423 schools across the country. The meal consists of a maize blend, which is cooked as porridge at schools and given to all children regardless of vulnerability status. The maize blend is fortified and by weight consists of 63% maize meal, 25% protein (soya) blend, 10.8% sugar and 1.2% salt. The Goal of the NSFP is to “promote equitable participation in quality learning and education for all children in Namibia during all seasons by providing nutritious and healthy food through schools that are a part of the social and economic life and development of communities”. Potentially, it increases dietary intake of children and provides an opportunity for food diversification, valorisation of locally produced crops, and capacity building for the private sector and women that provide services to schools. It also offers a platform for delivering cost effective nutrition-specific interventions such as nutrition education, micronutrient supplementation, deworming, HIV and AIDS, psychosocial support and school gardening. 11 11 The programme is fully implemented, managed and funded by the government with technical assistance from WFP. The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture in collaboration with WFP have finalized the development of a national school feeding policy, and a home grown school feeding programme, both of which will address issues of stakeholder collaboration, diversification of the current food basket and improved management structures amongst others.

1.8.10.2 Nutrition in other institutions Although the Government has developed the Namibia Food Safety Policy, which is currently being implemented through several ministries to ensure food, safety in the country [38], there is need to set food standards and legislation for food fortification initiatives in the country, including labelling regulations. This will ensure that the different sectors and institutions that offer meals like correctional facilities, hospitals, school hostels, universities, old age homes, early childhood development centres, and army bases provide nutrient adequate meals to their enrolees.

1.8.11 Social protection for vulnerable people Namibia has been rated as an upper middle-income economy [39]. Despite relatively good economic growth, and recent stable employment growth, the population continues to be susceptible to poverty. About 44% of the population are poor. Poverty is highest in rural (37%) than in urban areas (15%). To offer solution to the extreme poverty situation in the country, the Government has enacted various legislations that provide social protection in the country. The National Planning Commission report of 2015 outlines root causes of poverty most of which are non-contributory social protection instruments. The Government is keen in offering protection for the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Namibia. There are four principal child grants and allowances namely a) the child maintenance grant, b) the foster parent grant, c) the places of safety allowance, and d) the special maintenance grant. The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, (MGEPESW) mainly administer Child and family benefits. However, given the rapid growth of the elderly in the vulnerable households and increased number of OVC the Government is committed to continuing and scaling up support towards the vulnerable population.

1.8.12 Safety, standards, and quality control of food Namibian government is committed to ensuring that food that is available within the country either through local production or imports and food that is exported from the country is safe for consumptions. Therefore, the Government has put in place the Namibia Food Safety Policy that is currently being implemented through several ministries [38]. In addition, persons or organisations involved in; a) food production including plant and animal farmers, aquaculture farms, and fishers, b) food handling, transporting and storage, c) food transformation such as primary handling, slaughter, processing or packaging, d) food trade such as retailing, 12 12 wholesale, import or export of food, e) food service including catering services, restaurants, hotels, street foods, ceremonial or social food service; are obliged to abide by the standards and provisions of the Namibian Food Safety Policy and related regulations. All the regulatory functions relating to production and primary handling of safe food of either animal or plant origin, including standards on fresh produce, grain, insects, eggs, dairy, poultry, and meat are handled by the MAWLR. Fundamentally, all regulatory functions on consumer health related to food safety, regulations and standards on food offered or intended to be offered to consumers anywhere in the Republic of Namibia, including food service or food business premises such as retail, restaurants, street foods or food at social or ceremonial gatherings are handled by the Division of Public and Environmental Health in the MoHSS. There are currently two accredited food laboratories in Namibia for analysis and testing of food samples. Nevertheless, several challenges have been experienced since the start of the food safety policy implementation. These include the irrational allocation of environmental health practitioners in areas of jurisdiction, workforce requirements for rendering inspection services not in place and related risk factors, no regulations for the enforcement of the Public and Environmental Health Act, 2015, Act No 1 of 2015, inadequate resources and tools for conducting inspections especially at the ports of entry, insufficient funds, high staff turnover, poor coordination among the stakeholders and no standard inspection procedures in place. Hence, this policy through the coordination structure will provide a basis for the food safety key players to address issues that have, hitherto, impeded for the full implementation of the food safety policy of Namibia.

1.8.13 Integrated Food and Nutrition Security Information System The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with technical support from WFP and UNICEF developed Namibia Food and Nutrition Security Monitoring System (FNSMIS), which incorporates nutrition indicators [40] following a Cabinet decision to provide accurate and timely information and analysis about the prevailing food and nutrition situation in the country. The information is collected through regular monitoring, data collection, analysis and reporting by Early Warning, Monitoring and Risk Assessment subdivision within the OPM. A few shortfalls of the system include 1) disaggregation of data is by region only and not by district, and 2) the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework focuses on prevalence of malnutrition and do not report on determinants, equity aspects and best practices to scale up for effective nutrition programming. A parallel system, Namibia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (NAMVAC), is tasked with the functions of collecting vulnerability information including confirmation on the prevailing food security status and tracking indicators to inform early warning on impending disasters, guiding rural development strategies, and informing poverty reduction and social safety net programming. It also assesses disaster risk indicators to examine factors that influence vulnerability such as livelihoods and means of survival for communities in Namibia, outcomes of impacts of disaster on livelihoods and the way the affected people will cope in the event of hazard shocks. However, NAMVAC is dependent on donor funding and its sustainability is questionable. Within the MAWLR, the Crop and Household Food Security Monitoring Assessments (CHFSM) and Agricultural Inputs and Household Food Security Monitoring (AIHFSM) 13 13 assessments are conducted through the Agro-Business Information Services. The AIHFSM mainly focuses on the availability of agricultural inputs, farmers’ preparedness for the season and tracks changes in household food security in terms of food (mainly cereals) availability from the previous harvest). Bi-annual crop assessments are also carried out through CHFSM which collects data on area planted, production and yield estimates and also track changes in household food security in terms of food (mainly cereals) availability from the previous harvest. However, data collected on food availability both at household and national levels only focus on cereals i.e., maize, sorghum, pearl millet and wheat.

1.8.14 Food and Nutrition technical capacity The Nutrition Subdivision of the MoHSS Directorate of Primary Health Care which is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership on nutrition in the country has capacity gaps. The central level sub-division has one trained nutritionist (MSc. in Nutrition and Registered Dietician). There is no nutrition officer in any of the 14 regions and related districts. UNICEF, FAO and WFP have made strides in bridging the technical gap by providing nutrition technical support to the national nutritionists, while a few other partners are offering technical support through short-term consultancies. However, this support is not adequate. To fill this gap, the ongoing reform of the health sector is proposing three nutrition officers in each region. Now the Namibian University of Science and Technology is offering a four-year degree programme on Human Nutrition. However, it will take a while before the first batch of nutrition graduates are placed into the health system.

1.8.15 Advocacy, communication, and social mobilisation Communication, Social mobilisation and advocacy for food and nutrition have been shown to be effective tools for changing food and nutrition related behaviours, increased acceptance of interventions and subsequently reduction of malnutrition rates. By 2014, about 42 countries in the SUN movement had designed different mechanisms [41] to support social mobilisation, advocacy, and communication for scaling up nutrition. These mechanisms involved: organisation of nutrition events involving high level government officials; establishment of comprehensive government or joint social mobilisation, advocacy and communication strategies; engagement of parliamentarians in actively advocating for nutrition; development of country-specific advocacy tools to raise awareness about nutrition at a high level and establishment of SUN civil society alliances to provide support for social mobilisation, advocacy and communication activities. In Namibia, the Namibia Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN) has been on the forefront in advocating for the enhancement of nutrition status of everyone in Namibia especially for children below the age of five years. In the effort to scale up nutrition interventions, Namibia was one of the “Early Risers” within the global SUN Movement and was accepted as a member in 2011. Despite this achievement on scaling up nutrition, more is needs to be done to promote the Food and Nutrition Security agenda. Hence, in 2019, NAFIN restructured, redefined, and renamed itself to become the Nutrition and Food Security Alliance of Namibia (NAFSAN). NAFSAN’s vision states “All persons in Namibia have the resources, knowledge and motivation to assure food security and optimal nutritional status for everyone in Namibia”. 14 14

1.8.16 Operations research in Food and Nutrition Operations Research is an essential tool for providing information to address some of the main challenges faced in the implementation of food and nutrition security programs in Namibia. Currently, Namibia lacks a dedicated National Research Strategy that incorporates operations research for food and nutrition security. Again, the existing assessment mechanisms for food and nutrition security are not well uncoordinated, and implementers or decision makers may not have timely access to food and nutrition information, partly due to poor information sharing, advocacy and communication systems. Hence, through this policy, the Government is committed to ensuring that operations research is prioritized in program implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This may call for additional resource allocation and capacity development in all sectors to increase the use operations research results in food and nutrition security programming. 2. RATIONALE AND LEGAL ALIGNMENT

2.1 Introduction To capture the broad scope of the current Policy, its name was expanded beyond the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy for Namibia to National Food and Nutrition Security Policy. The rationale was to show the strong link between food and nutrition security . It was also intended to illustrate food security and nutrition as cornerstones for the realisation of the objectives of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia. This National Food and Nutrition Security Policy is aligned to the Namibia Vision 2030, Harambee Prosperity Plan, Swapo Party Election Manifesto and the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also well aligned with other sector policies and national development plans and strategies such as the Namibia Zero Hunger Strategy. The broad scope further expands the policy’s ownership to all relevant institutions in government and outside government and recognises the critical roles these relevant stakeholders have to play at both national, regional and constituency levels for the successful implementation and realisation of the objectives of the Food and Nutrition Security policy. The ultimate objective of the Namibia Food and Nutrition Security Policy is to ensure that the people of Namibia have access to adequate, affordable, safe, sustainable, and quality diets capable of always meeting the nutrient requirements of her population for healthy and productive lives. There is the recognition that food security is complex and dependent on factors such fluctuating weather conditions, sectoral public policies within the different government ministries, rural versus the growing urban population, food imports, technology adoption and current percentage of land under cultivation and grazing, among others.

2.2 Rationale Over the past two decades and since the promulgation of Food and Nutrition Policy, emerging evidence about providing better food to more people, in response to the growing food gap, have provided impetus for coming up with new designs and implementation strategies for food and nutrition security programmes in Namibia. The global trend recognise that malnutrition is a multi- causal national challenge that must be addressed by an innovative multi-sectoral, food systems 15 15 approach. This ensures balanced investment of resources throughout the value-chain from input supply, farm production, aggregation, storage, processing, marketing to consumption in order to sustainably improve food and nutrition security. It is also accepted globally that food systems are complex adaptive systems composed of many diverse parts/actors whose interactions with each other drive the functioning of the system. A dysfunction in one sector or by one actor, has significant knock impacts to the rest of the actors. Namibia’s FNSP therefore looks at innovative, coherent game-changing actions and investments that must be prioritised and undertaken from seed and planting stages to harvesting, processing, marketing and consumption, for both crop and livestock, so as to transform Namibia’s food system in a manner that improves food quality, availability, affordability and diversity, on the one hand, and food consumption and dietary diversity on the other, in order to address all forms of malnutrition at every stage of the life-cycle. The revised policy therefore bridges the policy gap on food and nutrition security in the country and provides an overarching and coordinated framework for the Government and its development partners to tackle and overcome all the causes of malnutrition. It articulates the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders and has clear coordination mechanisms. The policy acknowledges that other development sectors, such as agriculture, education, gender, social protection, urban and rural development as well as, international cooperation partners, NGOs, private sector, and civil society have critical roles to play in implementing nutrition- specific and sensitive interventions that address the immediate and underlying causes of malnutrition.

2.3 Legal Alignment The Food and Nutrition Security Policy (FNSP) is well aligned to national sectoral policies, strategies, and the constitution, and contributes to aspirations of the Harambee Prosperity Plan and the Zero Hunger Road Map. It resonates well with international conventions and declarations on food and nutrition, which the Government has ratified for the promotion of food and nutrition security. Table 1 presents the legislative framework and policy alignment of food and nutrition strategies. Table 1 Policy alignment for Food and Nutrition Security Policy Legislative Policy Alignment/FNSP strategies framework The Constitution of the Article 95, paragraph (j) which stipulates “consistent planning to raise Republic of Namibia and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living for the Namibian people and to improve public health”. Namibia Vision 2030 Attainment of objective 5 of the Namibia Vision 2030. Which aims at [43] ensuring a healthy, food secured and breastfeeding nation, in which all preventable, infectious, and parasitic diseases are under secure control, and in which people enjoy a high standard of living, with access to quality education, health and other vital services, in an atmosphere of sustainable population growth and development. 16 16 Legislative Policy Alignment/FNSP strategies framework Addresses sectoral strategies of food and nutrition challenges at national, regional and constituency plans through the integration of food and nutrition interventions. National Development The NDP5 health pillar aims at achieving a healthy population as core Plan 5 [34] for economic growth and development. It recognises the inter-linkages between nutrition, health, and poverty. It also acknowledges that poor nutrition is a barrier to achieving the health and poverty outcomes in Namibia. The FNSP contains strategies aimed at ensuring healthy and productive Namibian population and consequently is aligned to achieving the outcomes of the health and poverty pillars. Namibia Zero Hunger FNSP will provide the framework for the implementation of the Zero Road Map (2016 – Hunger Road Map that outlines strategic actions for ensuring a 2020):[35] Namibia without hunger. In addition, FNSP will define the coordination mechanisms to ensure actions and the relevant Government institutions and partners implement targets set within the Road Map. Namibia Agriculture FNSP supports the Namibia Agriculture Policy to increase and Policy of 2015 [44] diversify food production in all areas of the country, specifically drought tolerance varieties and crop diversification. It also provides the framework to support farmers to increase the production of nutritious cereal, vegetable and fruit crops for household consumption and as a source of income. National Gender The FNSP contributes to the National Gender Policy to create an Policy 2010[45] enabling environment for the empowerment of women ensuring their full participation in socio-economic and decision-making processes in all sectors and at all levels. The FNSP contains nutrition strategies to reduce gender inequalities and improve access to productive resources enabling poor women and girls to overcome poverty. Namibia Food Safety The Objective of the Namibia Food safety policy is to protect consumer Policy 2014 [38] health while facilitating trade in food. This is done by ensuring control standards are established and adhered to in regard of food production safety, food product hygiene, animal health and welfare, plant health and preventing the risk of contamination from external substances. It also lays down conditions for regulations on appropriate labelling for foodstuffs and food products. 17 17 Legislative Policy Alignment/FNSP strategies framework National Health Policy The National Health Policy Framework confirms that health and social Framework 2010 – well-being are fundamental human rights and addresses nutrition as 2020 [46] one of the general public health and social services priorities. National Policy on The FNSP is in line with the overall goal of the National Policy on Sexual, Reproductive Sexual, Reproductive and Child health that is to enhance the attainment and Child Health 2013 of the highest possible standard of sexual, reproductive health, child [47] health and nutrition for the Namibian population through the provision of equitable, accessible and affordable health and nutrition information and services. National Rural The FNSP supports the overall objective of the National Rural Development Policy Development Policy to achieve a sustainable economic and social 2012 [48] advancement in rural areas. Optimal nutritional status of the Namibian population will contribute to the improvement of rural people’s standards of living and empowerment to take charge of their own development. National Policy for The FNSP complements the school health policy that aims to promote School Health 2008 health education in schools to influence learner’s understanding, [49] attitudes and behaviour concerning health and nutrition practices. The FNSP strategies aim at ensuring improvement and maintenance of nutrition status and prevention of diseases. Namibia School The FNSP is in line with the four pillars of the school feeding policy Feeding Policy [50] that form the school feeding policy framework. The pillars are aimed at provision of safe, quality, adequate and balanced meals to learners. It also emphasizes the importance of strengthening coordination and sectoral linkages in achieving its objectives. The FNSP considers well- nourished learners as key contributor to the future socio-economic development of Namibia. Namibia Climate The FNSP support the vision of the National Policy on Climate Change Change Policy 2011 (NPCC), which outlines a coherent, transparent, and inclusive framework on climate risk management in accordance with Namibia’s national development agenda, legal framework, and in recognition of environmental constraints and vulnerability. The goal of the NPCC is to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030 through strengthening of national capacities to reduce climate change risk and build resilience for any climate change shocks 18 18 Legislative Policy Alignment/FNSP strategies framework Global and Regional The FNSP resonates well with major elements of the global and Conventions regional conventions and guidelines that deal with direct and underlying principles related to food and nutrition security. These include the 1990 World Summit for Children, the World Health Assembly (1991), International Conference for Nutrition (1992 and 2014) and the World Nutrition Summit (1996), which influenced nutrition to become an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals (2015). The FNSP draws from the global movement on Scaling Up of Nutrition (SUN) movement initiated in 2010 to promote and guide national efforts to improve nutrition and mobilize national and international resources. The FNSP also recognizes Namibia ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention for the Eradication of all forms of Discrimination against Women that include important principles on food production, household food and nutrition security. The Second International Conference on Nutrition (2014), the Zero Hunger Challenge and Malabo Declaration, World Health Assembly (2012), the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (2010) and more recently the established 1000 days movement with a focus to reducing malnutrition from conception through to the second birthday of a child. At regional level, the FNSP accepts key resolutions related to nutrition and household food security from of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the East African Community.

2.4 Guiding Principles Namibia as member of the regional and international community is signatory to several instruments such as ICN 2 recommendations, the SUN movement, the SDGs, the 1,000 days’ movement, and the African Regional Nutrition Strategy. These instruments are formulated based on updated research and Namibia has the obligation of contributing to their objectives. Further, Namibia has developed several national road maps such as the Vision 2030, Harambee Prosperity Plan, the Zero Hunger road maps and National Development Plan 5. This Food and Nutrition Security Policy is well aligned to the principles of all these instruments. Therefore, implementation and governance of this Policy is founded on the following guiding principles: • Namibia’s commitment to the Universal Human Rights as evidenced by the Namibian Constitution that guarantees the rights of all Namibian to adequate, safe and nutritious foods, 19 19 • Commitment to implement the recommendations of regional and global initiatives including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Maputo Declaration, the Scaling- Up Nutrition Movement, the Zero Hunger Challenge, the second International Conference on Nutrition, • Equity in access to and implementation of nutrition interventions more specifically, eliminating gender and other inequalities to help address some of the underlying causes of vulnerability to malnutrition, • Effective coordination within and across sectors including alignment, partnership, and integration for inclusive and effective multi-sectoral collaboration, • Community empowerment and effective involvement with incentives to engender community acceptance and ownership for implementation including the delivery of evidenced-based actions, good practices, nutritional knowledge, skills, and resources, • Decentralisation of adequate tools and resources and governance system for better implementation at operational level in accordance with Namibia’s commitment to decentralisation, • Scaling-up of evidence-based interventions that include proven strategies and best practices, • Life course approach, with a particular focus on the key ‘window of opportunity’, which is the first 1,000 days. This is a period from pregnancy and the first two years of life to address infant, maternal and adolescent girl nutrition, and • Accountability and participation at all levels including within and across sectors and at national, regional, district and community levels. 3. POLICY DIRECTION

3.1 Vision Optimal food and nutrition security for a healthy and productive nation.

3.2 Mission To provide integrated, affordable, accessible, and equitable, quality food and nutrition security services that are responsive to the needs of the population.

3.2 Goal To ensure that the population has access to adequate, safe, quality food and water throughout their life cycle that always meets their nutrient requirements for optimal healthy and productive lives.

3.4 Policy Objectives Objective 1 By 2030, reduce the prevalence of undernourishment from 30.9% to 15% and maintain overweight and obesity among children under five years below 5%, by facilitating the provision of adequate food and nutrition for mothers and children and ensuring optimal health and productivity of the people of Namibia throughout their lifecycle ; 20 20 Objective 2 By 2030, increase domestic food production of local consumption from 30% to 60% and enhance processing, marketing, and consumption of food to improve access to nutritious and safe food for the populace of Namibia at all times. Objective 3 By 2030, reduce prevalence of stunting from 24% to 12% through nutrition- sensitive interventions and by ensuring access to health care services, sanitation, hygiene, education, and social protection programmes for all people in Namibia. Objective 4 By 2030, increase investment in food and nutrition security by at least 10% of the national budget annually and ensure an enabling environment for effective coordination and implementation.

3.5 Government Policy Objectives, Rationale and Strategies Policy Objective 1: By 2030, reduce the prevalence of undernourishment from 30.9% to 15% and maintain overweight and obesity among children under five years below 5%, by facilitating the provision of adequate food and nutrition for mothers and children and ensuring optimal health and productivity of the people of Namibia throughout their lifecycle. Rationale Inadequate nutrition is a contributor to malnutrition, reduced immunity, and increased susceptibility to disease, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity. Malnutrition can present itself as acute (wasting and underweight), chronic (stunting) or micronutrient deficiencies. Both severe and moderate acute malnutrition are perilous for child survival and major determinants of stunting, which has long-lasting consequences and linkages with slowing development. Namibia has made minimal progress in reducing stunting as compared to wasting and underweight yet if reducing stunting is prioritised, more lives will be saved and all related consequences of child undernutrition will be eliminated. Conversely, Namibia has made progress in lowering acute malnutrition. However, assistance in changing nutrition practices need to be strengthened in both health facility and community settings. Addressing deficiencies of micronutrients is considered a major component of the stunting reduction strategy. In Namibia, micronutrients of greatest concern include vitamin A, iron, iodine, folic acid and zinc whose deficiencies have devastating consequences ranging from reduction of mental and physical development to impaired growth and related pregnancy complications. Specific strategies for reducing micronutrient deficiencies include promotion of micronutrient-rich diets, fortification of staple foods, point-of-use fortification of complementary foods, and micronutrient supplementations. Diet-related non-communicable diseases require high-level attention in Namibia because of the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the urban population. Underlying factors contributing to overweight and obesity need to be determined and related strategies for effective prevention developed accordingly. 21 21 Adequate nutritional care and support are recognised as an essential component of the Namibian guidelines for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) because it contributes to enhancing quality of life, prolong the survival rates of those infected and improve productivity. Therefore, integration of nutrition and HIV interventions should be strengthened. Namibia is prone to natural disasters including droughts and floods that lead to farming failure, food losses and high livestock mortality. Together with internal population displacements, disasters increase food insecurity and malnutrition. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen food and nutrition security activities in the disaster preparedness and response plan. Hence, the Government of Namibia commits itself to strengthening actions aimed at preventing and managing all forms of malnutrition through the following strategic measures that are designed to address the underlying and immediate causes of malnutrition that have direct impact on nutritional outcomes. Strategy 1.1 Increase coverage of evidence-based high impact nutrition-specific interventions aimed at preventing all forms of malnutrition

1.1.1 Promote, protect, and support exclusive breastfeeding by enforcing the legislation and monitoring of the implementation of the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes

1.1.2 Facilitate a supportive family, workplace, and social environment that enable caregivers to provide optimal feeding of their infants and young children

1.1.3 Ensure equitable access to optimal feeding and hygiene practices for infants and young children

1.1.4 Promote increased intake of micronutrients by infants and young children through consumption of diversified diets, food fortification, home fortification, and micronutrient supplementation

1.1.5 Promote and create access to available, affordable, and nutritionally adequate complementary foods for children aged 6–24 months

1.1.6 Foster partnerships to expand the scope of actors and implement Multi-Sectoral Nutrition approach towards improving child feeding practices

1.1.7 Create a national campaign on “1,000 Days” that promotes awareness messages on the multiple causes of stunting, its negative consequences, services, and practices for its prevention Strategy 1.2 Increase coverage of interventions for the management and treatment of acute malnutrition by documenting and sharing best practices at national, regional and global levels.

1.2.1 Scale up high quality health and nutrition services to detect, treat and prevent the occurrence of acute malnutrition among children under the age of five years.

1.2.2 Promote and support community-based approaches for active identification and effective management of acute malnutrition

1.2.3 Enhance the institutional and operational capacity to manage moderate and severe acute malnutrition within health facilities and communities 22 22

1.2.4 Strengthen and scale up the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition and the nutritional management of men, women, and children in hospital setting

1.2.5 Ensure that operational tools for the policy implementation include guidelines and key messages, norms, and standards for essential strategies such as Management of Acute Malnutrition Strategy 1.3 Implement Growth Monitoring and Promotion programmes

1.3.1 Strengthen capacity of health workers at health facilities and outreach services to monitor infant and child growth of children under the age of five years.

1.3.2 Sensitise mothers and women of reproduction age on pre-conditions and enablers for optimal growth

1.3.3 Scale up growth monitoring and promotion services via Community Health Workers at community and household level

1.3.4 Reinforce information on the use and interpretation of anthropometric indices, cut- off points, and summary statistics used to establish progress on optimal growth

1.3.5 Undertake periodic comparisons in levels, trends, and geographical distributions of under- and over-nutrition in pre-school and primary school children in Namibia Strategy 1.4 Prevention and control of micronutrient disorders

1.4.1 Strengthen monitoring of the universal salt iodisation programme to ensure that all salt is adequately iodised

1.4.2 Strengthen the quality and coverage of vitamin A supplementation for children under the age of five years and post-partum women

1.4.3 Develop national guidelines for the prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiency disorders (this includes all manner of micronutrient deficiency management)

1.4.4 Increase production and use of fortified and bio-fortified foods including point-of- use fortification Strategy 1.5 Promotion of optimal maternal nutrition

1.5.1 Strengthen pre-conceptual nutrition services and counselling for women of reproductive age and encourage pregnancy spacing

1.5.2 Strengthen iron and folic acid supplementation during pregnancy

1.5.3 Strengthen community mobilisation to increase access to and use of antenatal care services by women

1.5.4 Promote healthy weight gain and adequate nutrition during pregnancy through Antenatal services

1.5.5 Introduce measures to prevent adolescent pregnancy and nutrition services and counselling for pregnant adolescents

1.5.6 Strengthen interventions to ensure that pregnant and lactating adolescent mothers are adequately nourished

1.5.7 Promote nutrition-sensitive services (including family planning, safe motherhood, and prevention or management of infections) in collaboration with relevant sectors 23 23

1.5.8 Improve the system of social safety nets to ensure all vulnerable women of reproductive age and their family members have adequate nutrition Strategy 1.6 Prevention and management of over-nutrition and related non- communicable diseases

1.6.1 Promote practices that encourage diversified diets, food safety, healthy food choices, and healthy lifestyles, and weight management through communication, counselling, and dietary guidelines

1.6.2 Strengthen the capacity to screen, manage and provide adequate care for people affected with NCDs

1.6.3 Develop tailored dietary guidelines for over nutrition prevention and related NCDs

1.6.4 Regularly monitor the prevalence and diet related risk factors for NCDs

1.6.5 Further explore lifestyle changes contributing to obesity and overweight and strategies to encourage physical activity

1.6.6 Regulate the marketing of processed food and beverages to children and other vulnerable groups

1.6.7 Promote and support inclusion and sustainability of physical education in schools

1.6.8 Advocate for formulation of guidelines and strategies that will regulate intake of sugar and salt in processed foods Strategy 1.7 Promotion of optimal nutritional care for people living with HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases

1.7.1 Increase access to appropriate nutritional assessment, care and support for people living with HIV & AIDS and TB

1.7.2 Provide counselling on diet and exercise to prevent and control diet-related chronic diseases among people living with HIV

1.7.3 Strengthen the community HIV programmes nutrition support capacity

1.7.4 Promote and strengthen provider-initiated testing and counselling (PITC) at nutritional recuperation units

1.7.5 Coordinate and implement services in health facilities and activities in workplaces, communities, and homes to protect, promote and support breastfeeding among women living with HIV with full ART cover Strategy 1.8 Promotion of universal access and utilisation of quality primary health care services to all people

1.8.1 Promote and support health and nutrition education to increase the level of awareness of good nutrition

1.8.2 Promote integration of nutrition services in all routine and outreach health services and programmes targeting children and mothers

1.8.3 Promote and support breastfeeding policies, programmes, and initiatives

1.8.4 Promote and support appropriate complementary feeding practices 24 24

1.8.5 Promote utilisation of antenatal and postnatal care services among all pregnant and lactating women to monitor child growth, and the health and nutrition status of both the mother and the child

1.8.6 Advocate for, and support scale-up of new or existing programmes with low coverage

1.8.7 Prevent, control, and manage communicable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea and HIV. Strategy 1.9 Develop nutrition preparedness and response plans for emergency situations interventions

1.9.1 Ensure that policies, strategies and practices in emergencies and humanitarian crises promote, protect, and support breast-feeding and cater for non-breastfeeding mothers

1.9.2 Ensure implementation as per national guidelines for infant feeding in emergencies

1.9.3 Strengthen workforce capacity for managing nutrition in emergency situations

1.9.4 Improve supplementary feeding programmes for infants and young children in emergency situations

1.9.5 Ensure screening mechanisms are in place for targeting of nutrition and its related services to underserved communities and vulnerable groups in humanitarian situations

1.9.6 Improve supply chain management and logistics in emergency situations to treat and refer cases of severe acute malnutrition

1.9.7 Carry out sensitisation programmes for communities to raise their awareness of prevention, mitigation and response to risks of malnutrition during emergencies

1.9.8 Strengthen early warning systems on food and nutrition information from community to national levels Policy Objective 2: By 2030, increase domestic food production of local consumption from 30% to 60% and enhance processing, marketing, and consumption of food to improve access to nutritious and safe food for the populace of Namibia at all times. Rationale The UNICEF conceptual framework (1990) which has been in use for programming for the past 28 years by the nutrition community identifies inadequate dietary intake and disease as the two immediate causes of malnutrition, disability and death. Dietary intake is underpinned by household food security. Therefore, improving household food security has a high potential to prevent and control undernutrition, particularly wasting, stunting and micronutrient deficiencies through food-based approaches. Intervention packages and practices that combine improved food security with nutrition education have been shown to be more successful in improving nutritional status than stand-alone agricultural interventions. 25 25 The revised Namibia Agricultural Policy provides direction for increasing crop and livestock production, increasing household income through agro-business development, and promoting marketing and trade of Namibian safe, raw and processed agricultural products. Strategy 2.1 Strengthening local production of safe and nutritious foods especially by smallholders’ farmers and facilitate markets.

2.1.1 Enhance the use of sustainable agricultural technologies to increase production, processing, storage and handling of bio-fortified staple and nutrient-rich foods

2.1.2 Promote the production and consumption of locally grown indigenous nutrient-rich foods through increased awareness of their benefits and facilitate market access through formal marketing channels such as the Agro Marketing and Trade Agency and others.

2.1.3 Promote climate-smart agriculture and conservation

2.1.4 Strengthen agricultural inputs to enhance growth and food diversification for smallholder farmers that can still not afford agriculture inputs

2.1.5 Promote irrigation development and integrated water resources management

2.1.6 Promote sustainable and resilient agriculture through supporting livelihood approaches and new technologies that are climate resilience.

2.1.7 Strengthen research on new technologies and methodologies to enhance climate- smart agriculture

2.1.8 Promote fisheries, especially aquaculture, through access to finance, training, equipment, and market linkages Strategy 2.2 Improve both physical and economic access to safe and nutritious foods at household levels

2.2.1 Facilitate marketing of local surplus produce, and access to adequate, diverse, safe, and affordable food at household level

2.2.2 Promote and support income generating activities of food insecure households through agro-processing and small-scale agricultural technologies

2.2.3 Promote production, marketing, and consumption of diversified nutritious foods at household and community levels

2.2.4 Advocate for and support integration of nutrition in agricultural programmes at national and local government levels

2.2.5 Promote and support local food processing and value addition at household and community level

2.2.6 Promote production and consumption of indigenous foods across seasons to enhance diet diversification

2.2.7 Scale-up urban and peri-urban horticulture program, incorporating backyard gardening projects Strategy 2.3 Improve processing, storage and preservation of nutritious foods and reduce food waste and loss 26 26

2.3.1 Promote preparation at and dissemination of nutritious local recipes to household and community level

2.3.2 Promote national and local systems for food processing, preservation and small- scale storage technologies that preserve nutrients and increase the supply of nutritious foods

2.3.3 Promote food practices that reduces food waste and losses at household level

2.3.4 Develop a national framework to enhance postharvest handling of food and reduce food loss and waste

2.3.5 Support the standardisation of food handling and management during processing, storage, and transportation

2.3.6 Support the establishment of food banks to minimise food losses

2.3.7 Support the establishment of a coordination body to direct a comprehensive food management system

2.3.8 Promote fish canning, marketing, and distribution Strategy 2.4 Strengthening capacity for implementation of nutrition-sensitive intervention within the agriculture sector

2.4.1 Strengthen nutrition promotion and education in agricultural extension training

2.4.2 Promote extension service system as a platform to deliver food and nutrition- information to farming households

2.4.3 Strengthen the capacity of farmers’ unions in service delivery to farmers, especially with focus on digital extension, facilitation of farmer organisation for input acquisition, knowledge sharing and market linkage promotion Strategy 2.5 Strengthening the resilience capacity of households to various shocks

2.5.1 Scale up the implementation of nutrition-sensitive safety nets and social protection programmes to address chronic vulnerability linked to strengthening livelihoods to build resilience among vulnerable groups

2.5.2 Provide technical and financial assistance to small-scale farmers in the Green Scheme farming, rural communities, and horticulture programmes

2.5.3 Establish an integrated risk management and reporting system for monitoring and assessing livelihood and vulnerability Strategy 2.6 Promotion of agricultural approaches that mitigate the negative impact on nutrition

2.6.1 Ensure that nutrition is enhanced across all stages of the food system, from production through consumption

2.6.2 Identify agricultural interventions and practices that are harmful to human nutrition and enhance mitigation strategies Strategy 2.7 Create a conducive, healthy, and safe food industry

2.7.1 Encourage consumer demand for healthy foods and meals through sensitisation of communities on their benefits 27 27

2.7.2 Strengthen partnership with the food industry to foster implementation of nutrition related legislation such as food fortification, labelling, food safety, public and environmental health

2.7.3 Facilitate the establishment and accreditation of a national network of food testing laboratories to international / regional food safety institutions.

2.7.4 Strengthen policies and regulations that encourage gradual reduction of saturated fat, sugars, salt/sodium, and trans-fat in foods

2.7.5 Promote healthy diet-friendly public facilities such as hospitals, childcare facilities, workplaces, schools, food and catering services Strategy 2.8 Promote irrigation development and integrated water resources management

2.8.1. Facilitate investment in rainwater harvesting and water management

2.8.2. Encourage use of rivers and underground water resources for irrigation to diversify crop farming Strategy 2.9 Promote environmental systems and land management for sustainable agriculture development

2.9.1. Support the development of strategies for climate change adaptation

2.9.2. Encourage productive utilisation of arable land in communal areas Policy Objective 3: By 2030, reduce prevalence of stunting from 24% to 12% through nutrition-sensitive interventions and by ensuring access to health care services, sanitation, hygiene, education, and social protection programmes for all people in Namibia Rationale Malnutrition is not just due to diseases or lack of food, but also because of poor access to health care services, sanitation and hygiene, and education. In addition, lack of access to resources and lack of women empowerment indirectly contribute towards malnutrition. Scientific evidence suggests that implementation of the ten proven high-impact nutrition-specific interventions to scale, with a 90% coverage, can reduce prevalence of stunting and severe wasting by 20% and 60% respectively (Lancet 2013). Nevertheless, implementation of nutrition-sensitive interventions designed to address the underlying causes of malnutrition yield more benefits in reducing malnutrition. Empowerment of women through increased income, access and control over resources and reduction in female work overload are linked to improved child nutrition. Evidence has shown that an increase in USD10 in woman’s income achieves the same improvements in children's nutrition and health to an increase of a man’s income by USD110 (Farming First and FAO 2015: the female face of farming). This is because women are more likely to spend additional income on food and healthcare when compared to men. In addition, reduction of time constraints on women positively affects caring capacity and practices for children, self-care, and care for the family. To address these underlying determinants of malnutrition, the following strategic actions will be undertaken. 28 28 Strategy 3.1 Enhance and sustain equitable access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation interventions

3.1.1 Promote measures that ensure equitable access to safe water

3.1.2 Promote scaling up of community approaches to total sanitation

3.1.3 Promote interventions on awareness of infectious disease prevention and management strategies at community and household levels

3.1.4 Encourage treatment of recycled water in agriculture

3.1.5 Promote and support interventions on hand washing with soap (and where possible with liquid soap)

3.1.6 Enhance communication and advocacy for improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Strategy 3.2 Improve school nutrition and nutrition awareness

3.2.1 Integrate and strengthen nutrition education on infant feeding, maternal nutrition, and healthy eating into curricula for Early Childhood Development, formal and informal education. and parenting communities

3.2.2 Enhance nutritional sensitivity of the national school feeding programme through appropriate emphasis on hygiene and sanitation practices, deworming, gardening, and small animal husbandry in all participating schools

3.2.3 Promote physical education and exercise in schools at all levels

3.2.4 Ensure that the foods offered in institutional settings provide meals that meet optimal dietary requirements for targeted age groups and disease conditions

3.2.5 Promote water, sanitation and hygiene promotion education and practices in institutional settings

3.2.6 Build capacity of institutional staff on food handling, safety, and hygiene practices

3.2.7 Promote school gardens especially in schools in areas with rivers and springs to aid learning on agriculture and to supplement school feeding programme Strategy 3.3 Promote social protection interventions for improved nutrition

3.3.1 Provide social transfers to the most vulnerable households and communities

3.3.2 Strengthen the quality-of-service provision and expand coverage of social protection measures, including conditional and non-conditional cash transfers to target nutritionally vulnerable groups

3.3.3 Promote nutrition education activities in social protection interventions to increase household awareness of optimal nutrition practices

3.3.4 Promote nutrition-sensitive interventions such as school feeding programs as vehicles for nutrition education, micronutrient supplementation, deworming, school gardening for vulnerable groups

3.3.5 Promote off-farm employment opportunities through economic empowerment programmes and other income generating activities 29 29 Strategy 3.4 Enhance women and youth’s (including persons with disability) empowerment for improved nutrition status of household members and communities.

3.4.1 Promote gender-sensitive approaches in agriculture, primary health care, water and sanitation, social protection, and education.

3.4.2 Ensure meaningful participation of designated groups in all decision-making processes related to the food and nutrition security issues

3.4.3 Promote labour and time-saving technologies to reduce women’s workload

3.4.4 Support women’s access to productive resources and income-generating opportunities

3.4.5 Encourage the retention of learners, especially girls, at school

3.4.6 Ensure that women and youth empowerment programmes have nutrition goals and outcomes. Strategy 3.5 Improve the livelihood and nutritional status of Marginalized Communities

3.1.1 Strengthen coordination among stakeholders to ensure full implementation of targeted initiatives towards marginalised communities

3.1.2 Advocate and promote the related human rights for marginalised communities

3.1.3 Ensure that learners and students from marginalised communities have equitable access to primary, secondary and tertiary education

3.1.4 Strengthen existing collaboration with key stakeholders to expedite the provision of water, land, housing and sanitation

3.1.5 Increase, improve and mobilize Marginalised Communities towards socio- economic empowerment programmes

3.1.6 Strengthen the registration and coverage of marginalised communities to benefit from social protection interventions

3.1.7 Intensify the registration of undocumented marginalised community members within Namibia

3.1.8 Ensure that food items under the Marginalised Community Feeding Programme have sufficient nutritional value for all beneficiaries Policy Objective 4: By 2030, increase investment in food and nutrition security by at least 10% of the national budget annually and ensure an enabling environment for effective coordination and implementation Rationale The achievement of the nutrition goal relies not only on capacities of individuals and organisations to design and implement cost effective interventions, but also on a set of supportive programmes and activities required to ensure that the core set of nutrition interventions are competently delivered to the target population. This requires financial resources and well-educated and adequately skilled staff. To monitor the implementation of 30 30 nutritional interventions and assess progress in outcomes as well as to inform decision- making, a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system at all levels will be implemented. Key to enhancing implementation outcomes, is the ability to learn and share information on gaps and corrective measures and adjust programme implementation accordingly in real-time by navigating between the original log frame and the realities on the ground that arise during implementation (referred as adaptive management). Accurate data and information are important not only for evidence-based planning and implementation but tracking the changes in welfare and living conditions of the Namibian population. The food and nutrition information management system needs to be strengthened and implemented through national surveys, monitoring and evaluation and other assessments and reviews as well as a problem-based operations research. Food and nutrition information from various sources need to be strategically disseminated to promote effective use among stakeholders. Achieving the objectives of the policy to reduce the burden of malnutrition will also require stakeholders to accurately track progress and performance, evaluate impact, and ensure accountability at all operational levels. Therefore, a comprehensive M&E and accountability system for food and nutrition aligned with NDP-5 will be developed based on existing mechanisms for collecting routine data. To increase investment and raise the profile of food and nutrition, policy makers and other key players will need to be sensitised on social and economic consequences of poor nutrition for Namibia’s development through advocacy activities. A communication strategy is required to support advocacy, resource mobilisation, alliance building and to effectively promote social mobilisation and behavioural change. In addition to good governance and accountability, the policy recommends the following strategies to strengthening the supportive programmes, activities and services. There is a global consensus that sustainable improvement in nutrition requires nutrition- specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions, underpinned by an enabling environment for securing and sustaining political momentum and resources, and converting momentum into actions on the ground. In Namibia, nutrition is currently given high priority in development objectives as evidenced by its positioning in Vision 2030 and NDP 5. However, persistent, and causal complexity of remaining and emerging food and nutrition security challenges requires strategic advocacy to sustain and increase political leadership and further build political commitment to sustain momentum and resources. A major challenge in reducing food and nutrition insecurity in Namibia and other Sub-Saharan African countries is the tendency to focus on individual interventions often undertaken by single sectors rather than on collaborative, coordinated and mutually reinforcing strategies. Therefore, it is essential to create a conductive environment for a multi-sectoral approach through mainstreaming food and nutrition security into development policies and programmes, comprehensive scope and coverage of interventions, effective coordination and 31 31 accountability across sectors and among development partners at all levels. In this Policy, the enabling environment for food and nutrition will be reinforced through four major strategies as follows: Strategy 4.1 Enhanced capacity for food and nutrition security policy implementation

4.1.1 Implement a comprehensive human resource plan for nutrition in Namibia in collaboration with the national human resource plan

4.1.2 Increase the capacity of relevant sectors and stakeholders at the national and sub- national levels to implement nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions relevant to their mandate

4.1.3 Strengthen the institutional, technical, and infrastructure capacity of relevant institutions to develop and carry out problem-based nutrition operational research

4.1.4 Analyse the social and economic impacts of child undernutrition through the Cost of Hunger in Africa Study and provide evidence supporting investments in human capital for sustainable development in Namibia Strategy 4.2 Strengthening Integrated Food and Nutrition Information management system for improved decision-making and programming at all levels

4.2.1 Maintain and continuously improve the existing comprehensive and integrated health information system for the country

4.2.2 Strengthen the existing nutrition surveillance system at all levels of operation

4.2.3 Strengthen the quality of food and nutrition data systems, specifically in collection, collation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination

4.2.4 Analyse the nutrition situation in Namibia through the Fill the Nutrient Gap Study to identify barriers in accessing and consuming healthy and nutritious food for improved decision-making and programming

4.2.5 Harmonise the food and nutrition security implementation plan with other strategic frameworks such as Sustainable Development Goals, the SUN movement, Zero Hunger Road Map, ICN 2 framework for actions and the National Climate Change Strategic and Action Plan Strategy 4.3 Enhance a national interest in and commitment to improving nutrition programmes through functional communication plan

4.3.1 Ensure full dissemination of the policy in forms ranging from the full document to summaries and electronic versions

4.3.2 Develop and implement tailored communication and advocacy strategy to inform and influence decisions that affect food and nutrition security outcomes on all levels in Namibia

4.3.3 Strengthen and sustain capacity for advocacy, resource mobilisation and social mobilisation

4.3.4 Create effective platforms for information sharing on Food and Nutrition Security and networking for decision and policy formulation

4.3.5 Establish Champions to advocate for Food and Nutrition messages at all levels 32 32 Strategy 4.4 Enhance sustained commitment, governance, and resources

4.4.1 Advocate for and stimulate domestic investments in food and nutrition interventions

4.4.2 Encourage ethically public-private partnerships in addressing hunger and malnutrition issues

4.4.3 Strengthen budget tracking for food and nutrition interventions Strategy 4.5 Mainstream food and nutrition security into national, sectoral, regional, and local plans and promote common result-based frameworks

4.5.1 Foster alignment of policies, projects, programmes, objectives, and indicators that impact food and nutrition security across different ministries and agencies

4.5.2 Strengthen alignment of development partner programmes and funding mechanisms within their respective mandates

4.5.3 Encourage identification and mitigation of potential harmful actions for Food and Nutrition Security

4.5.4 Ensure that all NDPs have budget lines for food and nutrition security

4.5.5 Strengthen coordination institutions to enhance the implementation of the Namibian Zero Hunger road map Strategy 4.6 Develop appropriate food and nutrition security legislations, regulatory instruments, and guidelines

4.6.1 Review, analyse and modify existing sectorial policies and programmes on food and nutrition to ensure their suitability to emerging changes Strategy 4.7 Strengthen policy and legal frameworks for coordination, planning, monitoring and evaluation for food and nutrition security activities

4.7.1 Establish and implement a functional governance structure that ensures effective implementation of food and nutrition security interventions

4.7.2 Establish and operationalise a strong and authoritative government-owned and -led coordination body on all levels

4.7.3 Advocate for the establishment of Food and Nutrition Security academic programmes at various levels of academic institutions to enhance human resource capacity

4.7.4 Facilitate the development of a monitoring and evaluation system for the implementation of food and nutrition security policy 4. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND COORDINATION The current policy intends to achieve optimal nutrition for everyone in Namibia, by means of specific and targeted strategies, focusing on strengthening the enabling environment for effective actions in ending hunger, preventing, and managing all forms of malnutrition, ensuring equitable food security for all households in Namibia. It also aims at promoting and 33 33 ensuring wide coverage of nutrition-sensitive interventions to address underlying causes of malnutrition, strengthening supporting programmes and services needed for effective policy implementation, and establishing and enforcing a strong governance system. Each strategy needs to be implemented through a set of measures which are under the responsibility of several sectors, notably Health and Social Services, Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Education Arts and Culture, Higher Education, Technology and Innovation, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Urban and Rural Development, Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Industrialisation and Trade, etc. In addition to these government ministries and agencies, effective implementation of the policy requires engagement and contribution from development partners, civil society organisations, academia, and the private sector. Therefore, the responsibility for the implementation of the policy framework lies with all stakeholders, and a multi-sectoral governance system will be strengthened to ensure effective coordination and accountability.

4.1 Governance and Coordination Food and nutrition security concerns are multi-sectoral and best addressed through a well-co- ordinated multi-sectoral approach. Hence, an institutional framework will be initiated with the aim of supporting stakeholders at all levels to successfully operationalise the FNSP. The FNSP will galvanise the achievements realised so far and strengthen the existing coordination, planning and management mechanisms to guide policy and harmonise programming. The Government will provide overall leadership of the policy implementation with assistance from development partners, civil society organisations, and research and academic institutions. Effective coordination, planning and management for food and nutrition interventions has always been a priority for the Government of the Republic of Namibia. In support of the multi- sectoral approach, the Government will establish a four level Food and Nutrition Security Coordination mechanism for Namibia from the national to the subnational level. National level: refers to the first and top tier ranking for decision-making for all Food and Nutrition Security Policy implementation directives and emerging concerns. The national structure comprises of two bodies. 1) The Food and Nutrition Security Council, which is the over-arching body for all stakeholders, involved in food and nutrition security activities in the country. The Right Honourable Prime Minister will chair the Council. 2) The Food and Nutrition Security Inter-Agency Steering Committee (FNSIASC) is the body that provides coordination, management and implementation of Food and Nutrition Security Policy, chaired by Secretary to Cabinet as outlined in the Coordination Structure document. The FNSIASC addresses all technical issues regarding food and nutrition security in the country. The technical experts will work in specialised units or working groups to address specific components of food and nutrition security issues in line with government departments, development partners, and civil society’s alliances. Still at the national level, the National Secretariat will offer all the administrative support to the two institutions, link and coordinate the stakeholders. The National secretariat will be hosted in the MAWLR and work closely with other stakeholders. 34 34 Regional level: refers to the second tier ranking of operation level for decision making for Food and Nutrition Security programming. The regional development committee is the over- arching supervisory body for the food and nutrition security stakeholders in the region. It comprises of a food and nutrition security technical team with similar composition of that of the national level that advice the regional development team on Food and Nutrition Security matters. The Sub-National Secretariat will be hosted under the Directorate of Planning at the Regional Council supervised by the Chief Regional Officer. The role of sub-national secretariat is the same as that of the national level secretariat. Constituency level: refers to the third tier ranking of operational level for decision-making navigated by Regional Council through the constituency development. Due to lack of adequate technical capacity at the constituency levels, matters regarding food and nutrition security will be relayed through the different Development Committees like the Local Authority Development Committee, Village Development Committee, Settlement Development Committee, and Locality Development Committee. The community resource persons and agriculture extension workers will sit in the various development committees to discuss Food and Nutrition Security Matters. Community level: refers to the fourth tier ranking of operational levels for decision making at the community level steered through community-based organisations, community leaders, community health workers, the community members, faith-based organisations and other existing and relevant structures in the community. The community leaders and representatives of the community organisations will report to the constituency development committee.

4.2 Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities The policy also recognizes the critical needs for creating a supportive environment that seeks to promote complementary and harmonized efforts and to maximize synergies for existing resources, capacity, and programs across all relevant government sectors, development partners, private sector and civil society organisations. Given the multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder nature of this policy, the proposed actions will be implemented through a coherent and coordinated approach, which will foster collaboration between line ministries, regional and local authorities, development partners, CSOs, training and research institutions and private sector. Therefore, responsibility for implementation will be shared among stakeholders and there will be both individual and collective accountability for results.

4.2.1. Office of the President: National Planning Commission (NPC) National Planning Commission will: • Support resource mobilisation for the implementation of food and nutrition security activities in all relevant sectors, • Ensure that priority research topics and data needs for computation of indicators on food and nutrition security are included in national surveys, and • Support the development, revision and reviewing of related regulated framework on Food and Nutrition Security 35 35

4.2.2. Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) The Office of the Prime Minister will oversee the Food and Nutrition Security Coordination structure and its implementation up to the subnational level through the various government sectors. Further, the Directorate of Disaster Risk Management (DDRM) in the Office of the Prime Minister will ensure that Food and Nutrition Security issues in emergency preparedness and responses are integrated into the sectoral preparedness and response plans. The OPM as a public service coordinating body will: • Strengthen nutrition and agricultural linkages. • Ensure that policies are implemented and oversee human resource development and management for the various ministries, • Provide timely and reliable data on emergency for programming purposes (planning, provision of nutrition services and monitoring), • Coordinate resource mobilisation in cases of emergency, and • Chair the Food and Nutrition Security Council.

4.2.3. Ministry of Health and Social Services MoHSS will play a key role in the achievements of the FNSP especially under nutrition-specific interventions. In addition, the Ministry will: • Strengthen public health care system and human capacity to respond to nutrition needs at all levels of the system, • Take responsibility to provide technical support and guidance to all sectors as well as to disseminate the nutrition policy and associated action plans to other stakeholders and the community at large, • Enhance accountability on FNSP implementation, • Take necessary steps to strengthen the integrated health information systems with a wide spectrum of key nutrition indicators, • Promote healthy lifestyles in families, • Seek to build the capacity of its personnel at all levels in nutrition information management to enhance data collection, reporting and utilisation, and • Ensure that all elderly and disabled are entitled to quality health and nutrition care information and services.

4.2.4. Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) The MAWLR is responsible for promotion of food production security for all Namibians and specifically mandated to promote sustainable production, productivity, and diversification of the agricultural sector towards food security and the sustainable management and utilisation of land and water resources. To achieve this MAWLR will: • Under the Department of Land Reform, ensure that Namibia's land resource is equitably allocated, efficiently managed, administered, and sustainably used for the benefit of all Namibians, • Strengthen land and property rights to realise Namibia’s development objectives related to poverty alleviation, food security, environmental sustainability and advancing women’s empowerment, 36 36 • Collaborate with Ministry of Industrialisation & Trade and research institutions on the production of micronutrient rich-foods, and production of drought resistant food crops, • Ensure adequate sanitation and equitable access to adequate safe water for all Namibian households, particularly in underserved areas, and • Ensure national, community and household food security, and • Host the National Secretariat for the implementation and coordination of National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, Implementation Action Plan as well as the Coordination Structure.

4.2.5. Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MEAC) The MEAC will: • Strengthen school-based nutrition programmes including nutrition education through classroom curricula, nutrition-sensitive school feeding programme, school gardening and school health activities including deworming, micronutrient supplementation, sexual and reproductive health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion, • Ensure that Physical Education will be an examinable subject to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyle throughout the life cycle, and

4.2.6. Ministry of Higher Education, Technology, and Innovation (MHETI) The MHETI will: • Ensure an environment conducive for human resource development, including pre-service and in-service opportunities to meet the requirements for a well-trained and skilled workforce for food and nutrition security, • Support skills development through the Technical and Vocational Education and Training system, inclusive of skills development needed in the attainment of food security and nutrition, • Support efforts to start food and nutrition security degree programmes, including certificate and diploma courses in food and nutrition security, • Support efforts in the undertaking of food and nutrition security research in institutions of higher learning aimed at enabling technologies and product development, • Support the development and implementation of appropriate innovative strategies/interventions towards food and nutrition security, • Collaborate with the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) to promote the establishment of research and analytical laboratories and facilities that can address food and nutrition security problems.

4.2.7. Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) Part of the Ministry’s mandate is to develop and maintain economic regulatory framework, create conducive environment for business and promote value addition. In line with this, MIT will: • Collaborate with the relevant OMAs and the private sector to regulate imported and locally processed food products, 37 37 • Strengthen its existing policies and strategies to promote value addition to locally produced goods, especially agro-processed food and ensure that it is done in a manner that does not compromise nutritional content of the product, and • Promote fair pricing and trade and ensure that food and beverages on the Namibian market meet the country’s nutritional standards and protect consumer health.

4.2.8. Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGEPESW) The MGEPESW will: • Provide leadership in advocacy for equitable and gender sensitive nutrition programming including food supply to needy families and the implementation of growth monitoring and promotion, • Take leadership in advocacy for adequate maternity leave as it relates to breastfeeding promotion and protection, and national campaign for 1,000 days’ movement, • Promote male involvement in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition care; train and educate women, girls, men, and boys on how gender impacts on nutritional status and food and nutrition security and educate the public on and reinforce existing policies, guidelines, acts and regulations related to maternity protection, maternal health, infant feeding, and child welfare grants, • Provide support to poor rural, urban, and peri-urban populations to enhance food production and income-generating activities through the Implementation Plan for the Blueprint on Wealth Redistribution and Poverty Eradication and the Zero Hunger Road Map, • Ensure quality of service provision and make sure that the safety net programme targets nutritionally vulnerable groups.

4.2.9. Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MDVA) The MDVA will: • Ensure that all maternal and child health and nutrition services are provided to the Namibia Defence Force members and their families, • Create awareness among the Defence Forces and their families by developing information, education and communication materials on food and nutrition security, • Collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Social Services to ensure that the MDVA health care providers are oriented towards the provision of quality nutrition care services, and • Provide logistical support in emergency nutrition preparedness and response, and when possible be responsible for exceptional, large-scale programmes.

4.2.10. Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation (MLIREC) The MLIREC together with all relevant stakeholders will: • Ensure children are protected from child labour and traditional practices harmful to optimal nutrition, • Support the ratification and implementation of the ILO Maternity Protection Convention No. 183 of 2000 and its recommendations, and 38 38 • Work towards ensuring fully paid maternity leave for all employees including those in the private sector.

4.2.11. Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service (MSYNS) The MSYNS will: • Support Behaviour Change Communications and healthy lifestyles including nutrition and physical activity, and • Incorporate nutrition, food security, food safety and health issues into existing youth development programmes

4.2.12. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) The MFMR will: • Promote freshwater aquaculture to enhance food security, generate income and improve rural livelihoods through a pro-poor policy with production targeted primarily to ensure food security in local communities, • Promote marine aquaculture (known as mariculture) targeting farming of high value export species, • Promote fish canning and related value-addition, • Strengthen conservation, sustainable use and mainstreaming of biodiversity in coastal and marine ecosystems in Namibia, and • Ensure the production and availability of fish products in the local market to contribute to enhancing micronutrient intakes while providing income to the people.

4.2.13. Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) The MICT will collaborate with the relevant sectors to: • Inform and educate the population on nutrition issues, • Assist with the social mobilisation for nutrition including advocacy, community involvement and behaviour change communication, • Through a variety of appropriate channels such as broadcasts (TV and radio), and print and electronic media, it will ensure that Namibians receive accurate and timely information related to nutrition policies, regulations, and laws as well as best practices and norms.

4.2.14. Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) The MEFT will: • Mainstream food and nutrition security into mitigation and adaptation strategies for managing the threat of desertification, drought, climate change and other disasters, • Specific to climate change, will take up the designated role as the government agency responsible for the coordination and implementation of climate change policies and measures including sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation to protect the present and future development gains for the country. 39 39

4.2.15. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) The MOJ will • ensure that laws and regulations related to food and nutrition security such as food safety, food standards and the Environmental and Public Health Act related to International Code for marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes are enforced, • Play a critical role in revision of the Labour Act to put into effect changes to maternity protection provisions, • Assist with the review and updating of food and nutrition related legislation, and • Ensure justice for citizens on health, nutrition, and food security issues.

4.2.16. Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) The MURD will: • Mainstream WASH, food and nutrition security into regional and district development programmes and projects and enforce by-laws, • Establish and strengthen sub-national coordination platforms for multi-sectoral planning, • Assist with food distribution and WASH in emergency situations requiring food distribution, • Accelerate a broad-based rural industrialisation and economic growth through enhanced rural infrastructure development, research and appropriate technology development, income generation and employment creation, • Use constituency development funds to support community, family and child health and food and nutrition initiatives in their various constituencies, • Local government shall ensure nutrition is included in local development plans. They shall mobilize resources for the implementation of interventions and the operationalization of sub-national multi-sectoral platforms.

4.2.17. Ministry of Finance (MoF) The MoF will: • Coordinate resource mobilisation for food and nutrition security and make concomitant provisions for food and nutrition security in the national budget, and • Ensure adequate budget allocation and track expenditures for food and nutrition security in all sectors.

4.2.18. Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT) The MWT will: • Facilitate and support the construction and maintenance of food and nutrition building and transportation infrastructure, • Facilitate the movement of goods (food and nutrition products), and • Provide early warning services in terms of natural disasters which may impact food production and security such as floods, droughts etc. 40 40

4.2.19. Namibia Statistic Agency (NSA) NSA in collaboration with the stakeholders will: • Develop a nutrition information management system to strengthen the evidence base for food and nutrition security programming, and • Ensure findings are disseminated in a timely manner to enable effective planning and M&E.

4.2.20. Namibia Standards Institution (NSI) The NSI will: • Develop and disseminate quality national standards of food products including imported and locally produced foods and micronutrient fortified products, and • Reinforce the food quality control system and assist sectors in enforcing the Public Health Act relevant to their activities.

4.3 Legal and Regulatory Arrangements The National Food and Nutrition Security Policy derives from the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, Article 95, paragraph (j) which stipulates that: “consistent planning to raise and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living of the Namibian people and to improve public health”. It conforms to the international conventions and declarations on food and nutrition, which the Government has adopted or ratified for the promotion of nutrition. This policy aligns with the country's national development priorities. The Namibian Vision 2030 provides the foundation for principles of nutrition security. The fifth Objective of the Vision is to “ensure a healthy, food secured and breastfeeding nation, in which all preventable, infectious and parasitic diseases are under secure control, and in which people enjoy a high standard of living, with access to quality education, health and other vital services, in an atmosphere of sustainable population growth and development”. The Fifth National Development Plan (NDP-5) which is the main instrument for implementing policies and programmes aimed at achieving Vision 2030 acknowledges the nexus between nutrition, health and poverty. For example, NDP-5 considers nutrition as barrier to achieving health outcomes but also as a determinant and an outcome of poverty in Namibia. The revised policy also aligns with objectives of several sector policies, strategies and programmes as well as regulatory frameworks that impact food and nutrition security. These strategic documents listed in Annex 1 are from health and social services, agriculture and forestry, gender and child welfare, fisheries and marine resource, poverty eradication, education, industry, and trade just to name a few.

4.4 Resource Mobilisation Government will create a budget line for food and nutrition and secure resources for each cycle of the implementation plan. The Implementation Action Plan will include both nutrition- specific and sensitive interventions carried out by several line ministries and development partners. All stakeholders will be expected to budget for and secure own financial, human and 41 41 material resources to ensure effective implementation of activities they are responsible for. In case of insufficient funding, stakeholders will mobilise resources and technical assistance. Government will explore ways in which the private sector can participate in reaching the policy goals, in line with Government policies and priorities. At Regional and District levels, food and nutrition security interventions will be included in development plans and budgeted accordingly.

4.5 Monitoring and Evaluation framework Monitoring of this Policy will entail a range of activities that will describe and analyse the development and implementation of policy objectives. Through the monitoring process, lead implementers and co-partners will be charged with the responsibility of identifying potential gaps in implementation, outline areas of improvement and account for their activities and resource utilisation. The monitoring reports will gauge the level and quality of stakeholder engagement and track progress of achieving the intended policy outcomes. The Policy Implementation Action Plan (Section 5) contains key components essential for monitoring progress of policy implementation. The monitoring and reporting tool (Supplementary document 2) enables each lead implementer to report on the objectives, strategic outcomes, activities, outputs, output indicators, status of actual interventions and related results. Lead implementers will at least annually submit their monitoring reports to the Food and Nutrition Security Steering Committee (FNSSC) and the FNSC Secretariat or as often as mandated by the FNSC- steering committee. Monitoring and evaluation of these sectorial related activities will be completed concurrently with mandatory assessments of the progress made in the implementation of the sector plans. The information obtained should contribute towards continuous policy review (section 4.7). Thus, the continuous review should report on physical and financial implementation rates, progress and achievements, effectiveness of strategies and activities, gaps and challenges, lessons learned and recommendations for revising the policy.

4.6 Advocacy and Dissemination Proper communication and dissemination are important elements in raising awareness on the policy, creating ownership, and enhancing commitment. The launch of the endorsed policy will be publicised through television, radio, and print media in all of Namibia’s most spoken languages in order to raise awareness of the existence of the document. Following the adoption of the policy, all relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation will be availed with copies. Copies will be provided to academic institutions and libraries and made available for online access on the website of relevant institutions. Plain language summary of the policy will be developed and other formats of the documents for advocacy purposes will be developed for the high-level decision makers and traditional leaders. Finally, a communication and social mobilisation plan for food and nutrition security will be developed to support and enhance implementation of the action plan.

4.7 Policy Revision 42 42 Food and Nutrition Security agenda is dynamic, and priorities may change quickly. Therefore, the current policy shall not be considered as a static document. Rather, it should be revised as national priorities change and new evidence becomes available. Each revision should be undertaken only after an in-depth evaluation of the implementation of the policy and related action plans. The following eight steps may be followed during the revision of the policy; 1) Policy review 2) research and analysis, 3) stakeholder consultations, 4) draft policy, 5) review and revision, 6) implementation, 7) evaluation and 8) revised policy. Prior to each revision of the policy, FNSC in collaboration with the National Planning Commission will conduct a thorough evaluation of the policy implementation. 43 43 5. IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN In general, policy implementation is the administration stage of the policy process after the Cabinet has passed the policy and officially adopted it. Implementation of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy concerns several efforts that encompass financial, administrative, and political matters that require technical, professional, and administrative support, advocacy, and motivation to attain the intended purpose. To implement this policy, a detailed Implementation Action Plan of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy has been developed through a multi-sectoral approach (supplementary document). The costed multi-sectoral Implementation Action Plan considers existing implementation plans and strategies under the guidance and supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister. The plan incorporates specific activities required to achieve the policy objectives, indicates the lead implementer and co-partners, strategic outcomes, activities, outputs, output indicators, baseline indicators, annual targets, and related costs. Section 4.5 and 4.7 clearly outline how the Implementation Action Plan will be monitored and reviewed. 6. CONCLUSION This Food and Nutrition Security Policy (FNSP) is a revision of the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy for Namibia. The policy was updated to provide a policy base for nutrition and household food security actions that takes into consideration national progress and challenges. It recognises food and nutrition as universal rights essential for the physical, mental, and emotional development of children and the quality of life for adults. One of the Government priorities is to achieve Vision 2030 for long-term development. Food and Nutrition Security has the potential to enhance macroeconomic and societal growth through a set of positive outcomes including, for example, increasing maternal and child survival, enhancing good health, better productivity and higher earnings, breaking the nexus between nutrition, health and poverty and eliminating the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Despite several remaining challenges that need to be addressed, the Policy is developed in an environment of considerable past achievements of the 1995 Food and Nutrition Policy. The revised policy and its operational plan seek to consolidate these achievements and reinforce Namibia’s efforts to addressing the national challenge of malnutrition in children as stated in NDP5. Further, it is a step towards achieving the Vision 2030 goal of ensuring a healthy and food-secure nation. As such, a proper implementation of the policy will accelerate Namibia’s progress in reducing poverty and sustaining its economic development while contributing to the achievement of the sustainable development goals. Nutrition is a developmental issue, which is rooted in underlying and basic determinants that cannot be addressed by one sector alone. Given the inter-connectedness and inter-dependency of these causes, successful results-oriented implementation will depend on full participation, commitment, and accountability of all stakeholders. Because of the involvement of multi- 44 44 stakeholders and several line ministries, Government will, through this policy establish a strong coordination mechanism capable of fostering synergies across sectorial policies and programmes. This is key to achieving the policy specific objectives. The food and nutrition security policy framework reinforces the commitment by Namibia’s government to positioning food and nutrition as central to long-term development efforts as well as its compliance to global and regional initiatives related to addressing malnutrition. It provides an overarching framework that speaks to each sector and partner working towards the achievement of national goals and objectives through food and nutrition. Government of Namibia understands that many external factors such as climate change, global economy instability, global nutrition agenda and international protocols and conventions might affect the implementation of some interventions in the current policy. Therefore, the policy might require adaptation to the changing environment. It is expected that by embracing a multi-sectoral perspective and bringing the overall supervision at higher level of the Office of the Prime Minister and custodianship of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, the policy extends ownership and implementation responsibilities to all sectors, which will result in increased sectorial commitments and opportunities for joint programming. 45 45 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Namibia Statistics Agency. 2014. Namibia – Population Projections 2011 - 2041 Windhoek. 2. Namibia Statistics Agency, 2021. Annual National Accounts 2020, Windhoek. 3. Namibia Statistics Agency, 2017. Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) 2015/16 Report. Windhoek. 4. Global Panel. 2016. The Cost of Malnutrition: Why Policy Action is Urgent. Global Panel on Agriculture and food systems on Nutrition, TECHNICAL BRIEF No. 3, July 2016. London, UK, Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. 5. 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Annex 1: Main policies that impact FSN in Namibia Policy (year of adoption) Custodian Vision 2030 – Policy Framework for Long-term national Office of the President development. (1994) Food and Nutrition Policy for Namibia (1995) Office of the Prime Minister National Health Policy Framework 2010 – 2020 (2010) Ministry of Health Social Services (MoHSS) National Policy on Sexual, Reproductive and Child Health MoHSS (2012) National Policy on Health Promotion (2011) MoHSS National Policy on HIV/AIDS (2007) MoHSS National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding (2003) MoHSS National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response MoHSS Plan (2003) National Policy for School Health (2008) MoHSS Namibia Agriculture Policy (2015) Ministry of Agriculture. Water and Forestry (MAWF) Namibia Food Safety Policy (2015) MAWF Water supply and Sanitation Policy (2008) MAWF National Horticulture Programme (2015) MAWF Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act No.6 of 1995 MAWF Green Scheme Policy (2008) MAWF Draft Revised Namibia Drought Policy (2017) MAWF Namibia’s Aquaculture Policy (2001) Ministry of Fisheries and Marine (MFMR) Marine Resources Policy (2004) MFMR 50 50 National Policy on Climate Change for Namibia (2011) Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) National Policy on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (2004) Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) National Gender Policy (2010-20) MGECW National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy MGECW (2007) Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Policy (2009) Office of Prime Minister (OPM) Namibia Labour Law (1992, amended in 2004) Ministry of Labour Social Security Act, 1994 (Amended 2004) Ministry of Labour National Rural Development Policy (2014) Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) 51 51

Annex 2: Main Sector Strategies that impact FSN in Namibia Strategy (Year of Adoption) Custodian Namibia Child Survival Strategy 2014-2018 (2014) Ministry of Health and Social Services Master Plan for Marine Aquaculture in Namibia 2013-2023 (2013) Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (NCCSAP) Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry Country Climate-Smart Agriculture programme 2015 – 2030 (2015) Ministry of Environment and Tourism and Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. National Agenda for Children 2012 – 2016 (2012) Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) Multi-sectoral nutrition implementation plan, results framework Namibia Alliance for and dashboard of indicators (2014) Improved Nutrition (NAFIN)/OPM Implementation Plan for the Blueprint on Wealth Redistribution and Ministry of Poverty Poverty Eradication (2017/18 – 2019/20) Eradication and Social Welfare (MPESW) Namibia Zero Hunger Road Map (2016-2020) National Planning Commission National Multi-sectoral Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Ministry of Health and Social Control of Non-communicable Diseases in Namibia 2017/18 – Services 2021/22 Harambee Prosperity Plan 2016/17 – 2019/20: Namibian Office of the President Government’s Action Plan towards Prosperity for All. Namibia Food and Nutrition Security Monitoring Plan 2016 – 2020 Office of the Prime Minister (2016) 52 52

Annex 3: List of Contributors No. Name Agency 1 Marjorie Van Wyk MoHSS 2 Hilde Liisa Nashandi MoHSS 3 Sophia T. Nicodemus MoHSS 4 Amakali Lahja MAWF 5 Johanna Shapwa MAWF 6 Sophia Kasheeta MAWF 7 Matheus Ndjodhi MAWF 8 Theopolina Nantanga MAWF 9 Anna-liisa Kaxuxuena MITSMED 10 Kasee Ithana Synergos 11 Elizabeth N. Hamupembe MEAC 12 David Adetona MICT 13 Dr. Raimo Naanda MHETI 14 Natascha Cheikhyoussef MHETI 15 Edda Bohn MEAC 16 Gibson Munene MEAC 17 Nashapi Paulus AMTA 18 Anna N. Kampala MPESW 19 Filimon Shiimi MPESW 20 Selestinus Pengura MPESW 21 Sylvanus Nambala NPC 22 Martha K.Tsheehama NPC 23 Emilia Kambundu NPC 24 I-Ben Natangwe Nashandi OPM 25 Victorina David OPM 25 Fulgentia M. Mayira OPM 26 Obert Mutabani OPM/DDRM 27 Anastasia Amunyela OPM/ DDRM 28 Maria Hambeleleni Hamunyela UNAM 29 Penny Hiwilepo-van Hal UNAM 30 Prof. Timothy Rennie UNAM 31 Joel Conkle UNICEF 32 Gloria Siseho UNICEF 33 Dr. Jean Kaseya UNICEF 34 Waliomuzibu George UNICEF 35 Gloria Kamwi WFP 36 Elvis Gonza Odeke WFP 53 53 No. Name Agency 37 Rachel Mhango WFP 38 Obert Mutumba WFP 39 Dr. Mary Brantou WHO 40 Beata Negumbo FAO 41 Karutjaiva Mbapeua FAO 42 Kamupingene Gift FAO 43 Sandie Tjaronda NANASO 44 Ben Schernick NAFSAN 45 Micheal Humavindu MITSMED 46 Helvi Shilongo MITSMED 47 Teophelus K. Shipindo MGECW 48 E.m Tjiriamuje Otjozondjupa Regional Council 49 Veronica Richter Otjozondjupa Regional Council 50 Lusia Amutenya Oshana Regional Council 51 Frieda Kweyo Oshana Regional Council 52 Gabriel Mwaninga Ohangwena Regional Council 53 Tomas T. Mwandingi Ohangwena Regional Council 54 Wilbard Kambonde //Kharas Regional Council 55 F.M. Kamwanga Kavango East Regional Council 56 Paulus K. Haimbili Kavango East Regional Council 57 Gideon S. Mulenga Oshikoto Regional Council 58 Sylvester N. Simwanza Oshikoto Regional Council 59 Tjambiru U. Denboy Kunene Regional Council 60 Josef Esau Jantze Kunene Regional Council 61 Elfrieda Isaaks Hardap Regional Council 62 Edwin Swartz Hardap Regional Council 63 Lukas Johannes Omusati Regional Council 64 Rosalia N. Haiduwa Omusati Regional Council 65 Geoffrey M. Saryani Erongo Regional Council 66 Maria Nagula Michael Erongo Regional Council 67 Tulimekondjo R. Ishitile Khomas Regional Council 68 Erica Kahuure Omaheke Regional Council 69 Meryl Barry Pupkewitz Foundation 70 Veya Tolvo Citizen Advocate 71 Jurgen Hanke Namib Mills (Industry) 54 54 Experts No. Name Expertise Position 1 Dr. Emily Teshome Policy and Program Development Advisor Lead Consultant (Food Security, Nutrition and Community Health Management) 2 Dr. Sophy Ochola Capacity Development Expert Associate (Nutrition, Monitoring and Evaluation) Consultant 3 Ms. Lucy Mwangi Agricultural and Rural development expert Associate (Research, Extension &Advisory Services, Consultant Training, Policy & Strategies) 4 Ms Peris Kamau Nutrition and Food Security Technical Support 5 Dr. Isabella Asamba Planning and Policy development Technical Support Quality Assurance No. Name Expertise Position 1 Munhamo Chisvo Food and Nutrition Security Policy Expert Quality Assurance 2 Ellen Jaka Disaster Risk Reduction Expert Associate Consultant 3 Farai Gwelo Editorial Support Junior Consultant 55 55