enhancing coherence between trade policy and nutrition action
TRANSCRIPT
Enhancing coherence between trade policy and
nutrition actionCorinna HawkesProfessor of Food Policy
Director, Centre for Food PolicyCo-Chair, Global Nutrition Report
Trade and Nutrition: Opportunities and Risks, UNSCN/CFS Event, FAO, June 10 2016
Definitions
Defining “trade policy”• Rules and regulations governments put
into place to govern transactions across national borders
• Policy instruments designed to influence physical movement of products across national borders, provision of services, economic exchange
• “Behind-the-border” policies that affect trade and incentives for private companies to trade and invest
Defining (mal)nutrition
• Actions that aim to achieve nutrition objectives…
1. People live in nutrition-promoting environments2. People are less poor3. Women are empowered4. People have access to quality health & nutrition
services 5. People know about positive nutrition behaviours
• ..in the pathway to improved nutritional status
Defining “nutrition action”
Example of nutrition action pathway
Actions to create an enabling
environment for nutrition
action
Nutrition Action Objective
Change in nutrition
behaviourNutrition
status
Governance arrangements
that enable coordination
between other sectors and
nutrition action
Procure nutritious foods into
public institutions that serve
people on low incomes
People have access to more
nutritious foods (more
nutrition-promoting
environment)
More people –consume nutritious
diets
Improved nutrition
status
Defining “policy coherence”• SDG 7, Target 17.14 “Enhance Policy Coherence for
Sustainable Development” • OECD (2003): “Promotion of mutually reinforcing
policy actions across government departments and agencies creating synergies towards achieving the agreed objectives”
• OECD (2014): “Policy coherence for sustainable development” integrates economic, social, environmental, governance dimensions of sustainable development
• Aims break down silos between policy communities and applying integrated, whole of government approaches to common global challenges e.g. nutrition
Actions to create an enabling
environment
Nutrition Action Objective
Change in nutrition
behaviourNutrition
status
Governance arrangements
that enable coordination
Procure nutritious foods into
public institutions
People have access to
healthier food
More people consume
adequate, safe, nutritious,
diverse, healthy diets
Improved nutrition
status
Is there policy coherence between trade policy & nutrition action?
Do governance arrangements
permit coherence?
Is there policy space in trade policy for the
action?
Are trade policy objectives
aligned with nutrition
objectives?
Do the outcomes of trade policy
support or undermine the
behaviour?
Opportunities & risksof tradepolicy for nutrition
Comparing objectives of nutrition action & trade policy
(Some) trade objectives• Improved & more stable
supply of products & services
• Lower prices of consumer goods
• Economic growth• Higher incomes• Greater employment
opportunities
Nutrition objectives• People live in nutrition-
promoting environments• People are less poor• Women are empowered• People have access to
quality health& nutrition services
• People know about positive nutrition behaviours
Trade policy objectives
Pathways of influence
Economic growth
Higher incomes
Improved & more stable supply of products &
services
Lower prices of consumer goods
Greater employment opportunities
Trade policies
For example, lower tariffs, harmonization of standards, protecting intellectual property rights, reducing barriers to the trade in services, development of infrastructure and capacity for trade
Environments around people
are healthy
People are less poor
Women are empowered
People are educated about
nutrition
People have access to health
and nutrition services
Nutrition action
For example, develop capacity to deliver nutrition action, social protection, procure foods to public institutions, restrict inappropriate promotional marketing, involve women in agricultural
interventions for nutrition, supplementation programmes, public awareness campaigns
Nutrition objectives
Imports/exports Foreign investment Government revenuesProvision of services
PRODUCTS & PRICESE.G. availability, price, diversity &
stability of food and products used in nutrition services to prevent, treat &
manade malnutrition
EMPLOYMENTE.G. amount and type of jobs;
wages; spill-over effects
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTUREE.G. transport; health;
education; research; social protection; standards & sanitary
control systems
Pathways of influence
Trade policies
Nutrition objectives
Lower tariffs
Examples
Environments around people
contain adequate food throughout the
year
More stable supply of foods at lower prices
during periods of lower national production
✔
Imported grain displace more nutritious
regionally or nationally produced grain
Environments around people
contain less nutritious
staples
✗
FAO, State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2015/16
Trade affects each of the four dimensions of food security…The interaction
of trade with these dimensions is complex and
depends on a variety of underlying factors,
producing great differences in country experiences and
making it difficult to ascertain a generalizable
relationship
The influence of trade policy on nutrition is not generalizable but context specific, differing between
foods, forms of malnutrition and
population groups, and influenced by
accompanying trade reforms and existing
policies and institutions
Role of complementary policies
Examples of potential complementary policy to enhance opportunity
• Programmes to enhance economic access to fruits & vegetables for low income groups
• Investment in infrastructure for local markets for fruits & vegetables e.g. through WTO Aid for Trade initiative facility or Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) aid for trade partnership
• Policies which encourage household/ community horticulture
• Investment in agrobiodiversity in areas where markets poorly developed
Examples of potential complementary policies to mitigate risks
• Restrictions on advertising, publicity, marketing to children
• Clear nutrition labelling for full information
• Taxes on sugary drinks
• Public awareness campaigns
• Nutrition counselling for pregnant women & education programmes
How to promote coherence?
1. Reframe the question• From:• Is trade bad or good for nutrition?
• To• What are the nutrition challenges in my region/country and how can trade policy help attain nutrition objectives?
2. Analyse coherence
• Is trade policy supportive of nutrition objectives?
3. Identify & implement complementary policies
• What are the complementary policies that can enhance opportunities of trade policy for nutrition and mitigate risks?
4. Strengthen institutional capacity and & governance mechanisms
• What capacity do we need to enable coherence & what governance mechanisms can we use or build to implement it?
But first, countries must name nutrition as a development priority
Thank you!
Corinna HawkesProfessor of Food Policy, Director, Centre for Food Policy
corinnahawkes