South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI II) : annual report April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016 (English)

The South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI) was conceived at a joint World Bank-DFID South Asia Heads of Agency meeting in 2008 and established in 2010 to address the South Asian Enigma—how chronic malnutrition remains intractable ... See More + The South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI) was conceived at a joint World Bank-DFID South Asia Heads of Agency meeting in 2008 and established in 2010 to address the South Asian Enigma—how chronic malnutrition remains intractable despite high economic growth—by fostering the crosscutting actions that will lead to measurable improvements in food and nutrition security (FNS).The program was created as a targeted step to advance the FNS agenda and foster intersectoral action in the countries of the South Asia region (SAR). Phase I of SAFANSI was implemented from 2010 to 2015. Over the course of implementation promotion of the FNS agenda in SAR evolved to the forefront of policy and decision makers. This was made possible through consistent engagement on FNS through SAFANSI and its development partners by supporting awareness raising, facilitating cross-cutting collaboration between sectors and diverse stakeholders, providing funding to support applied research and FNS programs, and by maintaining good technical efficiency. Since 2010 the FNS agenda gained in importance with many countries in the region adopting nutrition frameworks or national action plans in the last several years. However, much remains to be done to raise awareness and advocacy, build capacity and stimulate behavior change to increase food and nutrition security in the region. The second phase of the SAFANSI Program, which became effective in December 2014, builds on the success and lessons from the first phase to further the FNS agenda.The objective of the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative Phase II (SAFANSI II) Trust Fund is to improve FNS for individuals and communities in South Asia through a strengthened commitment and increased capacity for more effective and integrated FNS actions across South Asia.SAFANSI aims to complement and supplement other initiatives in the region by adding value to on-going efforts and seeking to exploit gaps or overlooked opportunities to strengthen the FNS agenda and its operationalization.The first year of SAFANSI II has focused on processes to operationalize the trust fund, including reaching agreement on the operations manual, results framework, risk matrix, communications strategy and the strategic directions for the trust fund.  See Less -