To accelerate progress and strengthen the impacts of many nutrition investments across the federal government, the U.S. government released its 2016-2021 Global Nutrition Coordination Plan on June 14. The actions outlined in the plan will save millions of lives and realize significant benefits to broad-based economic growth and development.
Representatives from eight federal agencies participated in the development of this report including National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) National Program Leaders Drs. Deirdra Chester, Dionne Toombs, and Isabel Walls, other U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Treasury, and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The plan builds on U.S. initiatives, particularly Feed the Future and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.
The Coordination Plan identifies six technical areas for enhanced agency coordination: food fortification, nutrition information systems, food safety, nutrition in the first 1,000 days (pregnancy up to two years of age), nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, and HIV and nutrition.These issues play a crucial role in individual and therefore national development. Nutrition is especially urgent now that the world is facing both under-nutrition and overweight/obesity issues that challenge health.