National Nutrition Policy 2010-2020

In order to address the major nutrition problems in Gambia, the Government revised his national nutrition policy for the period of (2010-2020). The vision of this policy is "a Gambia free of malnutrition".
The goal is to optimal nutrition requirements of the Gambia population, to assure a health and sustainable livelihood.
In order to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, a number of key strategies will be implemented by the strategy in order to improve the nutritional and health status of children, including: promotion of the use of nutritious, safe and locally available complementary foods, increasing awareness of legislators, policy makers and the public on the importance of optimal infant and young child feeding, advocate for the provision of an enabling environment to facilitate breastfeeding at workplaces, support interventions to promote personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, support the timely and appropriate identification and management of severe acute malnutrition.
In addition, the strategy plan to achieve a reliable supply and proper utilisation of a variety of safe, adequate and nutritious foods at affordable prices at all times. The strategy to be implement include: (i) support IEC/BCC campaigns on environmental sanitation, including access to safe water supplies, the management of agricultural waste, personal hygiene, food hygiene and safety, (ii) promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices, (iii) promotion of inter-sectoral collaboration in addressing food and nutrition security issues, (iv) advocate for the availability, affordability and accessibility of food including animal sources countrywide, (v) support implementation of food-based interventions focusing on local production, processing, preservation and utilisation at community level, (vi) advocate for the provision of adequate infrastructure for production, processing, storage, marketing and distribution of food commodities, (vii) support self-sustaining producer groups or associations at community level in production, processing, packaging and marketing, (vii) advocate for the strengthening of national capacity to assess, analyze, monitor and evaluate food and nutrition security situations, (viii) support the food rights approaches, (ix) support poverty reduction strategies and programmes.
Finally, the policy will improve the food system in the Gambia. Key strategy will include: (i) to support the establishment of the Food Safety and Quality Authority, (ii) support the development of standards for foods, (iii) support the review, update and /or formulation of legislation, guidelines, standards and codes of practices on food quality and safety,(iii) promotion of regional and international co-operation in the area of food standard, safety and quality control, (iv) support the functioning of the National Codex/Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee, Compliance Committee and Food Control Advisory Board, (v) support the functioning of Consumer Protection Groups, (vi) support the functioning of National Laboratories to ensure food quality and safety, (vii) coordination of intersectoral actions towards the implementation of the Food Act 2005, (viii) strengthen public information and/or educational activities to sensitise the population on food quality and safety, (ix) awareness creation of the food industry stakeholders on the food control laws, regulations and standards, (x) support the mobilisation of resources for proposed Food Safety and Quality Authority.
To increase the resilience of livelihood to disaster, the policy plans to improve timely access to adequate food by people in emergency situation. In responding to these challenges, the government will implement a number of strategies, including: (i) provision of nutritional support including emergency food aid where appropriate to the affected population, (ii) capacity building of stakeholders to manage nutrition in emergency situations, (iii) incorporation of nutrition related disaster preparedness tools and early warning systems in to the National Disaster Management Plan, (iv) support mothers, families and care givers to practice optimal infant and young child feeding in emergency situations, (v) support the institution of mechanisms for timely access to adequate and quality food for people in emergency situations.
In the context of governance, the last policy (2000-2004) institutionalised the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) mandating it to coordinate nutrition and nutrition-related activities in The Gambia. In 2005, the National Assembly enacted the Food Act 2005, which established NaNA as a legal entity with defined roles and responsibilities. A number of institutions and organizations are actively involved in the area of nutrition as a developmental issue. At national level, NaNA will work with Regional Technical Advisory Committees for effective coordination and monitoring of nutrition and nutrition related interventions. At the community level, NaNA will work through and with existing local government and community based structures to implement the policy.