IMPROVING URBAN AND PERI-URBAN NUTRITION AND HEALTH THROUGH HARNESSING THE DIVERSITY OF TRADITIONAL FOODS
Workshop Sponsored by IPGRI
10-11 December, 2002, Nairobi, Kenya

The erosion of traditional food systems has a negative impact on the nutrition, health and economic well-being of both urban and rural populations. A working group drawn from university, government and national and international organizations in East Africa has come together to address these concerns within the region. As an outcome of a workshop held on December 10-11, 2002 at the World Agro-forestry Centre in Gigiri, Nairobi, the participants have undertaken to develop an initial action plan and strategy for research to begin to tackle this problem in Kenya. The issue will be addressed as it cross-cuts all of the Kenyan society with an emphasis on: i) groups that are vulnerable to under-nutrition and/or to non-communicable diseases attributable to simultaneous over-consumption of energy-rich foods and lack of dietary diversity and ii) those sectors of society who may be most responsive to socio-cultural and health promotional messages that raise the status and use of traditional foods.

The consensus of the group is that efforts to increase the use of traditional crop diversity to address the health needs of Kenyans can only succeed if they are approached in a multi-sectoral and coordinated manner. Therefore the group has resolved to integrate its efforts in a comprehensive program that will encourage a range of relevant inputs and activities under six broad sub-themes: Production, Market and Economic Issues, Post-harvest Handling, Nutrition Education and Training, Consumer Issues, and Policy. While activities and initiatives can be undertaken as individual components, efforts will be most effective as they maintain linkages under the overall theme. A concept paper will be prepared that brings these sub-themes together.

The first priority identified in relation to all of the sub-themes is a consolidation of existing data, resources, initiatives and information. Such a situation analysis of the food chain, from Production through Post-harvest Handling to Consumption, will identify gaps among the already varied ongoing activities of relevance to the theme and the most constructive new directions. The whole issue of safety of urban food systems, especially those associated with urban agriculture has generated considerable concern among the consumers and is one that will receive special attention in this initiative.
For the other sub-themes specific priorities for which concept notes will be prepared were identified. Efforts in marketing and nutrition education will focus on raising the profile of traditional food crops, promoting them to middle and upper-income consumers in Nairobi and "repackaging" them in ways that increase their acceptability to urban consumers. Research on patterns of use of traditional vegetables, fruits, cereals and legumes among the urban and peri-urban population should be conducted to both identify nutrition and health needs of vulnerable groups and to establish the determinants of why people make the choices they do. Nutrition education activities should draw on the insights gained to produce educational materials that effectively address the needs of vulnerable groups. Among the essential policy changes needed to facilitate Kenyans to benefit from traditional crops and indigenous vegetables is to have these included as scheduled within the national agricultural policy and recognized as important within the national policy on food security. The development of Food-based Dietary Guidelines will be both a specific undertaking as well as a focus that integrates the themes and the process undertaken by the group. Clearly, the support of both FAO and WHO both of which spurred global interest in food diversification and subsequently the whole concept of Food-based Dietary Guidelines will be sought.

Rapid socioeconomic, cultural, demographic and environmental changes as they affect diet and health, present an emerging crisis with global impact. At the same time the urgent need to address these issues defines new directions and opportunities that draw on the combined expertise of nutrition, agriculture and biodiversity, and other disciplines. Thus the group seeks the future participation of an extended range of persons and organizations that share its concerns from within Kenya, the East African region and beyond. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) from its sub-Saharan Regional office in Nairobi will assume a coordination and communication role for this crucial initiative.

More information about the group's contributors and its progress can be obtained from Prof. Timothy Johns of IPGRI (t.johns@cgiar.org) or Prof. Ruth K. Oniang'o of the Rural Outreach Program (oniango@iconnect.co.ke).