Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Action Plan for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas 2017 - 2022.

The Food and Nutrition Security Policy is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Policy is 5 years between 2017 and 2022. The objective of Food and Nutrition Security Policy is to ensure that the population has sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary requirements and food preferences for a healthy and active life. Therefore, the Food and Nutrition Security Action Plan sets forth strategic objectives to guide the coordinated implementation of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy by a National Food and Nutrition Coordinating Committee comprised of public sector and private sector stakeholders as well as Non-Governmental Organizations. The five strategic objectives of the Action Plan to achieve the objective of FNSP are: (i) food consumption and utilization, (ii) food production, (iii) food affordability, (iv) food stability, and (v) governance.
The Action Plan provides a holistic strategy that addresses the food and nutrition of the entire population with particular attention being given to the nutrition needs of young children, pregnant women, persons who are disabled, persons living with HIV/AIDS, elderly persons, and persons who are beneficiaries of Government assistance programmes. Public awareness will be raised on proper nutrition throughout the lifecycle to make good food choices. Therefore, a communication strategy will be developed and implemented at the community and individual levels to provide nutrition information. The knowledge on macro- and micronutrient deficiencies will be improved and disseminated. Training on proper nutrition will be provided to target groups such as pregnant women, children, elderly, physically and mentally disabled, and recipients of government assistance. Breastfeeding within first six months will be promoted to improve the health status of infants. The availability of safe local nutritionally-sensitive foods will be increased by encouraging domestic food production of fresh and processed root crops, fruit, and vegetables as well as fish. In order to produce nutritious and culturally sensitive food, family farming systems will be supported including women and youth. The food and nutrition security will be integrated into related legislations and policies. Nutrition interventions will be implemented in schools and other institutions. The coordination, collaboration and partnerships among public and private sector institutions and non-governmental organizations will be strengthened in healthy diet, wellness, and lifestyle programmes. The evidence-based decision-making will be enhanced through surveillance monitoring and evaluation systems to prevent the deterioration in nutritional status of vulnerable groups and the population in emergencies.
Farming system will be diversified to encompass more value-added production and innovation. Programmes will be developed to enhance efficient food marketing systems. Food safety will be ensured for all foods, including imported foods by adopting the highest food standards from production through to consumption. Food labelling will be properly carried out to assist the population in meeting their nutritional needs as outlined in the Food Based Dietary Guidelines.
The Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Action Plan will be implemented with ‘All of Government’ and ‘All of Society’ approach. To this end, the participation of the government ministries, non-governmental organizations, and local communities will be promoted in the implementation of the Action Plan. The implementation of the Action Plan will be monitored in accordance with the health information system. A National Food and Nutrition Coordinating Committee will be established for the period 2017 - 2022. Reports will be provided by the National Food and Nutrition Coordinating Commission to the Cabinet through the Ministry of Health and disseminated as widely as possible. The evaluation of the Action Plan will be carried out at the end of the five year period.