Namibia

Namibia Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN) is a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership forum that addresses stunting in Namibia. The Government has decided to revive a Food and Nutrition Security Council (FNSC) as the overarching coordination platform for nutrition, under the Prime Minister’s leadership. It is suggested that NAFIN will serve as a technical platform for the Council and that the participation of the relevant ministries, parastatals and the private sector will be broadened.

Last updated: December 2016

The Namibian Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN) is the multi-sector, multi-stakeholder platform convened under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). It includes 10 ministries, development partners, civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector and academia. The global non-profit organisation Synergos is the Secretariat of NAFIN. Specialised task forces and working groups have been created and are accountable to NAFIN. Plans are underway to establish a forum under NAFIN for Permanent Secretaries with participation from line ministries. NAFIN also aims to pilot regional coordination forums in order to better reach the community level.
United Nations (UN) agencies are well represented with the participation of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Health Development Partners Group (HDPG) is the Namibian Donor Network and UN agencies (WHO, UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United States Agency for International Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), European Union, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Spanish Cooperation. The Namibia Non-Government Organisations Forum (NANGOF) Trust forms the umbrella for civil society engagement. Businesses Pupkewitz Foundation, Namib Mills and Namibia Diaries are fully engaged in the Food Fortification Technical Working Group chaired by the Namibian Agronomic Board.

Last updated: October 2015

The revised National Food and Nutrition Policy was developed by a multi-stakeholder, participatory approach and currently awaits validation. The Harambee Prosperity Plan, launched by the Government in April 2016, is the Presidential vision to accelerate the development of Namibia for 2016 to 2020, with food and nutrition as critical components. The National Planning Commission has completed the Food and Nutrition Zero Hunger Strategic Review in February 2016. Regulations relating to the National Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes are drafted and awaiting approval.

Last updated: December 2016

Namibia has a National Food and Nutrition Policy (1995) and a National Strategic Plan for Nutrition (2010). In addition, there are a variety of nutritionsensitive policies and strategies including:

• Infant and Young Child Feeding
• Micronutrient Deficiency Control
• Acute Malnutrition Management
• Nutrition Management for people living with HIV/AIDS, and
• Non-communicable Diet-related Diseases.

Several ministries are revising their policies and legal frameworks to incorporate more nutrition indicators. NAFIN plans are incorporated in National Development Plan 4 (NDP4). The national legislation is nutrition sensitive and includes salt iodisation, water management and social protection. The Social Security Act (2004) provides maternity leave benefits and sets up distribution schemes that allow for better access to nutrition for the most disadvantaged. Maternity protection law provides for 12 weeks of maternity leave. A Civic Organization Partnership Policy (2005) aims to create a working partnership, setting the basis for multistakeholder development planning.

The Public and Environmental Health Act (2015) has a provision on food safety, and infant and young child feeding. It serves as the platform for development of regulations for the international code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes.

The Scaling Up Nutrition Country Implementation Plan (SUNCIP) was launched together with the Child Survival Strategy (CSS) under the umbrella of “A Promise Renewed” in September 2014.

Last updated: October 2015

National development plans that target nutrition by key ministries are aligned and reflected in the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Implementation Plan and results framework. The Plan is to be revised and a new strategy will be aligned with the Food and Nutrition Policy and the Harambee Prosperity Plan. Progress by line ministries and stakeholders — including United Nations agencies, and civil society organisations – are made available through individual reports and joint-reporting along with the bi-annual Namibia Food and Nutrition Security Monitoring report.

Last updated: December 2016

The Multi-sectoral Nutrition Implementation Plan, Results Framework and Dashboard of Indicators serves as the costed Common Results Framework (CRF) for Nutrition National Plan for Namibia. All national development plans targeting nutrition by key ministries are aligned and reflected in the CRF. The Dashboard of Indicators helps decision makers view the status of key sectors’ contributions to nutrition in Namibia. The implementation of the CRF is monitored by NAFIN with the support of a number of sub-groups such as Maternal Infant Young Child Nutrition, food fortification and food security groups and the malnutrition taskforce.

Progress is documented individually by line ministries, UN agencies, donors and civil society. A system for joint reporting on a regular basis is yet to be made available although a good security monitoring system has already been established.

Last updated: October 2015

The costed Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Implementation Plan and results framework is captured in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) of the Government. The multi-stakeholder publicprivate partnership forum NAFIN, under the office of the Prime Minister, has a budget line within the Ministry of Finance and receives an annual allocation of resources in the national budget. Ministries and agencies have their own tracking systems and reports, through budget votes and the accountability report for 2014 to 2015, has been made available.

Last updated: December 2016

The resources allocated for NAFIN from the Ministry of Finance is N$300,000 per year (US$30,000) annually and has increased from the past years.

The costed CRF is captured in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework budget of the government and is expected to support resource alignment by sectors and external stakeholders. There is agreement about the limited financial resources available and its allocation to nutrition between government and partners, but the amount of funds available has not been agreed upon.

The financial system of the Government of Namibia does not allow for a nutrition specific budget line, although, nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive activities are funded through other budget lines. A decline in external funding has created an increase in the financial gap for nutrition interventions in Namibia.

Last updated: October 2015