An assessment of the causes of malnutrition in Ethiopia: A ...

Figure 3.1: Nutrition and food security: two-way linkage.
Malnutrition
Non-food causes
including, caring,
health factors and
the environment
Dietary effect
Productivity effect
Causes including
climatic, access to
resources, purchasing
power, and shocks
Food
Insecurity
Note: Though the writer of this report set this figure, it is important to point out that this linkage is implicitly
captured in Figure 1.3. In this context, it can be considered as a complement to Figure 1.3.
In regional consultations as a part of the NNS formulation process, there was a
general acceptance of the nutrition security conceptual framework captured by figure 2.
However, a slight censure came from the participants of the SNNPR consultative meeting.
The criticism was that the framework attracts attention to the immediate and underlying
determinants when indeed, in the Ethiopian context, the major problems that require urgent
attention are those in the basic determinants category. It was argued that not only inadequate
allocation of institutional responsibility, but also problems of coordination across the sectors
involved in nutrition-related actions are important institutional failures contributing to the
deaths of children and women of productive age. In addition, cultural factors are generally
ignored, but are major sources of failure in previous nutrition intervention programs. These
issues have to be addressed in drafting the new NNS.
3.3.2. The concept of targeting in nutrition and food security strategies
To have effective nutrition aimed food security interventions, targeting is important.
Targeting of beneficiaries for nutrition and food interventions can be made on the basis of
household, community, region, or individual members of a household depending on the
design of the programs. Targets and actions require prioritization. Target groups may need to
be narrowly defined to focus on those who are the neediest and the most responsive to the
planned interventions.
Conceptually it is important to distinguish between the food security and nutrition
security target groups. Often, food security interventions cater to adult heads of household,
which predominantly are men, except in emergency cases where supplementary food aid
programs typically have packages for pregnant women and children.
Though any level of national or regional food security may not guarantee household
food security, the policy and programs to transfer such higher level food security to
42