USCN News is a periodic review of developments in international nutrition compiled by UNSCN from a variety of sources of information. SCN News aims to serve as a communication channel for the international nutrition community of practice, highlighting recent developments in policy and programme. The SCN News has published peer reviewed papers on relevant nutritional issues including updates on UNSCN members’ activities twice a year since 1988. Many developing country researchers and programme managers have found the SCN News very useful, as they often do not have easy access to other journals. The focus on policy and programme implications makes the SCN News unique compared to other research oriented nutrition publications.   

Archives:

SCN News 37 Landscape Analysis on Countries' Readiness to Accelerate Action in Nutrition, early 2009
No. 36 Accelerating the Reduction of Maternal and Child Undernutrition, mid 2008*
No. 35 Universal Salt Iodization (USI), end of 2007*
No. 34 Working Together to Achieve Freedom from Child Hunger and Undernutrition, mid 2007*
No. 33 Diet-related Chronic Diseases and the Double Burden of Malnutrition in West Africa, late 2006*
No. 32 Tackling the Double Burden of Malnutrition: A Global Agenda, mid 2006*
No. 31 Adolescence: A Pivotal Stage in the Life Cycle, late 2005 - early 2006*
No. 30 Closing the Gap on the Right to Adequate Food: The Voluntary Guidelines, mid 2005*
No. 29 Overweight and Obesity: A New Nutritional Emergency?, late 2004 - early 2005*
No. 28 Nutrition and the Millennium Development Goals, July 2004*
No. 27 Meeting the Challenge to Improve Complementary Feeding, Dec 2003*
No. 26 Mainstreaming Nutrition for Improved Development Outcomes, July 2003*
No. 25 School-Age Children: Their Health and Nutrition, Dec 2002*
No. 24 Nutrition in the Context of Conflict and Crisis, July 2002*
No. 23 Civil Society and the UN System, Dec 2001*
No. 22 Nutrition Goals and Targets, July 2001*
No. 21 Nutrition and the Environment, Dec 2000*
No. 20 Nutrition and Agriculture, July 2000*
No. 19 Nutrition and Ageing, Dec 1999*
No. 18 Adequate Food: A Human Right, July 1999*
No. 17 Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, Dec 1998*
No. 16 Nutrition of the School-aged Child, July 1998*
No. 15 Effective Programmes in Africa for Improving Nutrition, including Household Food Security, Dec 1997*
No. 14 The Nutrition Challenge in the 21st Century: What Role for the United Nations? July 1997*
No. 13 Behavioural Change and Nutrition Programmes; and Poor Nutrition and Chronic Disease Part I, late 1995*
No. 12 The Role of Care in Nutrition -- A Neglected Essential Ingredient, early 1995*
No. 11 Maternal and Child Nutrition, mid 1994*
No. 10 Nutrition and Food Aid, late 1993*
No. 9 Focus on Micronutrients, mid 1993
No. 8 Highlights of the World Nutrition Situation, late 1992
Extracts from SCN News - The Lesser Child, May 1991
Supplement to SCN News No. 7 - Some Options for Improving Nutrition in the 1990s, mid 1991
No. 7 Refugees' Nutrition Crisis, mid 1991
No. 6 Preventing Anaemia, late 1990
No. 5 Nutrition and School Performance, early 1990
No. 4 Update on the Nutrition Situation, late 1989
No. 3 Does Cash Cropping Affect Nutrition?, early 1989
No. 2 World Nutrition Situation, Economic adjustment, March 1988
No. 1 Vitamin A Deficiency, Urbanization, March 1988

The Sixth Report on the World Nutrition Situation: Progress in Nutrition (2010)

The Sixth report on the world nutrition situation focuses on “Progress in Nutrition” and confirms that there has been notable progress in the reduction of undernutrition in some countries. Control of iodine deficiency, for example, is a success story in progress. Vitamin A deficiency is gradually being controlled either when measured by serum retinol levels or clinical signs of the deficiency. The reader will also find out what the trends are for stunting and underweight and how these trends differ geographically. However, this report clearly delivers the message that despite progress, quick acceleration of efforts is needed for bringing actions to scale.

With 5 years to come to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set in 2000, it is important to evaluate whether the nutrition target is on track and where additional efforts and support are needed.

This report also critically looks at the intergenerational cycle of growth failure, which continues to claim and compromise lives. It makes a strong call for a renewed effort to invest in maternal nutrition in a sustainable and holistic manner. Finally, this report shows the need for making stronger connections between food security and nutrition for sustainable solutions and a lasting change.

The Fifth Report on the World Nutrition Situation: Nutrition for Improved Development Outcomes (March 2004)

This reports is the result of a partnership between a Task Force convened by the SCN and the many UN and other agencies that provided access to data and expertise. The Task Force was composed of lead authors - Lawrence Haddad (International Food Policy Research Institute), Jay Ross (LINKAGES/Academy for Education), with contributions from Arne Oshaug (Akershus University College, Norway), and Liv Elin Torheim (Akershus University College, Norway); in collaboration with Kathy Kurz (International Center for Research on Women), Milla McLachlan (World Bank), Bruce Cogill (USAID/Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance). The Fifth Report continues the tradition of reporting on trends in nutrition throughout the life cycle and of challenging the nutrition community. But instead of asking the question: how is nutrition affected by global changes? the Fifth Report asks the question more proactively: how can a nutrition perspective accelerate the attainment of a comprehensive set of development goals? Inspired by the commitments made at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000, translated into a series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Fif5th Report makes the case that the role of nutrition in development goes far beyond providing an indicator of progress towards the MDGs.

The Fourth Report on the World Nutrition Situation: Nutrition Throughout the Life Cycle (January 2000)

This report was  produced in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It is built around the theme nutrition throughout the life cycle. This change was signalled in part by growing evidence of the linkage between foetal undernutrition and chronic disease later in life, as well as new estimates of the global magnitude of growth retardation during foetal life.

The Third Report on the World Nutrition Situation (December 1997)

This report presented trends in stunting for the first time, as well as comprehensive reviews of micronutrient deficiencies and nutrition in emergencies. Early reports featured regional and global trends in underweight amongst preschool children.

Between 1992 and 1995, two Updates on the Nutrition Situation were published: The Summary Results for the Third Report on the World Nutrition Situation were published in late 1996 as an Update on the Nutrition Situation. The Update on the Nutrition Situation published in November 1994 extended the results from the Second Report.

The Second Report on the World Nutrition Situation, Volume I with Global and Regional Results (October 1992)

The Second Report on the World Nutrition Situation, Volume II with Country Data (March 1993)

Between 1992 and and 1987, and Update on the Nutrition Situation - Recent Trends in Nutrition in 33 Countries was published in January 1989.

The First Report on the World Nutrition Situation (November 1987)

This report include a Supplement on Methods and Statistics to the First Report on the World Nutrition Situation published in December 1988.

About the NICS Report

Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations (NICS) haspublished information on key outcome indicators from emergency-affected populations since 1993. These publications take the form of quarterly reports, which include narrative situation analyses and recommendations. NICS has also published online databases with survey results from random-sample nutrition and mortality surveys since 2004. 

The NICS reports aim to raise awareness and facilitate action to improve the nutritional situation of populations affected by crisis. The title, Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations, has been chosen to reflect the reports' focus on all populations affected by crisis, including refugees, displaced, and resident populations. Currently, the readership of these reports totals 1,600 people - 70% of whom live in developing countries. Click here for more information about NICS.

NICS Vol 24, March 2012 (pdf*: 3600 KB)
NICS Vol 23, May 2011 (pdf*: 1940 KB) 
NICS Vol 22, October 2010 (pdf*: 1900 KB) 
NICS Vol 21, March 2010 (pdf*: 1200 KB) 
NICS Vol 20, December 2009 (pdf*: 974 KB) 
NICS Vol 19, June 2009 (pdf*: 957 KB)
NICS Vol 18, March 2009 (pdf* 1127 KB)
NICS Vol 17, June 2008 (pdf*: 1469 KB) 
NICS Vol 16, March 2008 (pdf*: 1644 KB) 
NICS Vol 15, December 2007 (pdf*: 820 KB) 
NICS Vol 14, September 2007 (pdf*: 2103 KB) 
NICS Vol 13, May 2007 (pdf*: 958 KB) 
NICS Vol 12, February 2007 (pdf*: 1361 KB) 
NICS Vol 11, November 2006 (pdf*: 966 KB) 
NICS Vol 10, August 2006 (pdf*: 901 KB) 
NICS Vol 9, May 2006 (pdf*: 1024 KB) 
NICS Vol 8, January 2006 (pdf*: 1024 KB) 
NICS Vol 7, August 2005 (pdf*: 911 KB) 
NICS Vol 6, May 2005 (pdf*: 1,124 KB) 
NICS Vol 5, February 2005 (pdf*: 1,291 KB) 
NICS Vol 4, November 2004 (pdf*: 1,321 KB) 
NICS Vol 3, August 2004 (pdf*: 1,325 KB) 
NICS Vol 2, May 2004 (pdf*: 1,802 KB) 
NICS Vol 1, February 2004 (pdf*: 1,414 KB) 
RNIS 43, November 2003 (pdf*: 793 KB) 
RNIS 42, August 2003 (pdf: 1,074 KB) 
RNIS 41, April 2003 (pdf: 1,550 KB) 
RNIS 40, December 2002 (pdf: 1,240 KB) 
RNIS 39, October 2002 (pdf: 1,111 KB) 
RNIS 38, July 2002 (pdf: 1,450 KB) 
RNIS 36/37, April 2002 (pdf: 1,454 KB) 
RNIS 35, October 2001 (pdf: 1,382 KB) 
RNIS 34, July 2001(pdf: 991 KB) 
RNIS 32/33, April 2001 (pdf: 528 KB) 
RNIS 31, July 2000 (pdf: 735 KB) 
RNIS 30, March 2000 (pdf: 756 KB) 
RNIS 29, December 1999 (pdf: 683 KB) 
RNIS 28, September 1999 (pdf: 497 KB) 
RNIS 27, July 1999 (pdf: 540KB) 
RNIS 26, March 1999 (pdf: 852KB) 
RNIS 25, October 1998 
RNIS 24, June 1998 
RNIS 23, March 1998 
RNIS 22, December 1997
RNIS 21, September 1997 
RNIS 20, June 1997 
RNIS 19, March 1997 
RNIS 18, December 1996 
RNIS 17, September 1996 
RNIS 16, June 1996
RNIS 15, April 1996 
RNIS 14, February 1996 
RNIS 13, December 1995 
RNIS 12, October 1995 
RNIS 11, July 1995 
RNIS 10, April 1995
RNIS 9, February 1995 
RNIS 8, December 1994
RNIS 7, October 1994
RNIS 6, August 1994 
RNIS 5, June 1994
RNIS 4, April 1994
RNIS 3, February 1994
RNIS 2, December 1993 
RNIS 1, October 1993

Supplements

The SCN has produced supplements of the NICS reports on issues linked to the assessment of the nutritional status of emergency-affected populations:

• Assessing micronutrient deficiencies in emergencies-Current practice and future directions, October 2007 (pdf*: 326 KB) 
• Adults: Assessment of Nutritional Status in Emergency-Affected Populations, July 2000 (pdf*: 300 KB)
• Adolescents: Assessment of Nutritional Status on Emergency-Affected Populations, July 2000 (pdf*: 637 KB)

*To view, navigate and print the pdf file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.  You can download this free of charge from Adobe Systems Inc.

SCN Nutrition Policy Papers are produced to summarize current knowledge on selected topics. The series of Nutrition Policy Papers was started in 1985 and up until 1996 were called State-of-the-Art Reviews. Since 2005, the SCN Nutrition Policy Papers are published in the United Nations University's Food and Nutrition Bulletin (www.foodandnutritionbulletin.org or www.unu.edu/unupress/food/unupress.htm). Electronic copies will continue to be available for download from the SCN website. 

Previous issues

Previous issues available to download: 

NPP 22. Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation During Pregnancy in Developing Country Settings by N Dalmiya, I Darnton-Hill, W Schultink, and R Shrimpton. 2009
NPP 21. Community-Based Management of Severe Malnutrition in Children by C Prudhon, A Briend, Z Weise Prinzo, B Daelmans, J Mason. 2006
NPP 20. Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Report of the 28th Session Symposium. October 2001
NPP 19. What Works? A Review of the Efficacy and Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions by L Allen, S Gillespie. September 2001 
NPP 18. Low Birthweight by J Pojda, L Kelley. September 2000
NPP 17. Challenges for the 21st Centruy: A Gender Perspective on Nutrition Through the Life Cycle Papers from the SCN 25th Session Symposium in Oslo, Norway. November 1998
NPP 16. Nutrition and Poverty by S Gillespie, NU Hasan, S Osmani, U Jonsson, R Islam, D Chirmulay, R Gross. November 1997 
SOA 15. How Nutrition Improves by S Gillespie, J Mason and R Martorell. July 1996
SOA 14. Controlling Vitamin A Deficiency by S Gillespie, J Mason. January 1994  
SOA 13. Effectiveness of Vitamin A Supplementation in the Control of Young Child Morbidity and Mortality in Developing Countries by GH Beaton, R Martorell, KJ Aronson, B Edmonston, G McCabe, AC Ross, B Harvey. December 1993 
SOA 12. Nutritional Issues in Food Aid Report from the SCN 19th Session Symposium in Rome. August 1993 
SOA 11. Nutrition and Population Links - Breastfeeding, Family Planning and Child Health by S Huffman,  R Martorell, K Merchant, R Short, P Ramachandran, M Labbok, B Edmonston, B Winikoff. May 1992
SOA 10. Nutrition-Relevant Actions - Some Experiences from the Eighties and Lessons for the Nineties
SOA 9. Controlling Iron Deficiency by S Gillespie, J Kevany, J Mason. February 1991  
SOA 8. Managing Successful Nutrition Programmes by J Jennings, S Gillespie, J Mason, M Lotfi, T Scialfa. October 1990  
SOA 7. Appropriate Uses of Child Anthropometry by G Beaton, A Kelly, J Kevany, R Martorell, J Mason. December 1990  
SOA 6. Women and Nutrition by J McGuire, B Popkin, M Chatterjee, J Lambert, J Quanine, P Kisanga, S Bajaj, H Ghassemi. October 1990 
SOA 5. Malnutrition and Infection - A Review by A Tomkins, F Watson. October 1989 
SOA 4. Women's Role in Food Chain Activities and their Implications for Nutrition by G Holmboe-Ottesen, O Mascarenhas, M Wandel. May 1989  
SOA 3. The Prevention and Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders by BS Hetzel. March 1988 
SOA 2. Delivery of Oral Doses of Vitamin A to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency and Nutritional Blindness by KP West Jr, A Sommer. June 1987 
SOA 1. Nutrition Education: A State-of-the-Art Review by Robert C. Hornik. January 1985
by S Gillespie, J Mason. October 1991 

The Nutrition Sensitivity of Agriculture and Food Policies  

Agricultural and food systems throughout the world have evolved to become more complex and globalized. The quality of food production, processing, and consumption – as determined by the food system – is intrinsically related to the World Summit goal for all people to have the opportunity to lead a healthy and active life. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture aims to maximize the positive impact of the food system on nutrition outcomes while minimizing any unintended, negative consequences of agricultural policies and interventions for the consumer.  

The complex role of how agricultural policies can effectively address nutrition is not yet well understood. There is considerable conceptual knowledge on this topic, and policies and programmes are clearly relevant, but the tangible impact of food processing, storage, and transformation, into improvements in dietary patterns and nutritional outcomes is fragmented. 

More than 20 years after the first International Conference on Nutrition (ICN), the second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) cannot use a "business as usual" approach. The world has profoundly changed and nutrition has profoundly changed, now recognized as being multi-sectoral, multi-level, multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary. There is demand from countries for practical tools, guidelines, and sharing of experiences as well as lessons learned on how to align sectoral policies to improve nutritional outcomes. 

Countries affected by a multiple burden of malnutrition and going through different stages of a nutrition transition, ask for up-to-date knowledge and simple tools to ensure that agricultural, trade, food system policy decisions can be guided to become pro-nutrition and their impact on nutrition can be assessed. 

The purpose of the 2013 country case studies is to contribute to the on-going dialogue of the gaps in our understanding of effective nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food policies and commitments, and the food-based solutions that help inform countries in their efforts to scale up nutrition. Eight country case studies (Brazil, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Thailand) as well as a synthesis report were completed which describe and analyze national policies in the area of food and agriculture, including trade and related sectors using a value chain approach in selected countries at different stages of the nutrition transition. 

These papers will serve as background papers for the ICN2 and for the global community.  

For more information on the synthesis study report, click here.   
For more information on the individual country case studies and their respective reports, click here.  

Download the full synthesis report in English and in French. 
Download the executive summary report in English and in French.

Download the short 4-pager on the case studies in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese. 

This work has been presented at the LCIRAH Conference in London on 4 June 2014 by Dr Carl Lachat. The audio of the presentation will be posted soon on the LCIRAH website. To download the presentation, click here.

2005 Country Case Studies: Angola, Bolivia, Brazil and Mozambique

Integrating food and nutrition interventions in national development plans in order to accelerate the achievement of the Millenium Development Goals in the context of realizing the human right to adequate food: A Synthesis of the four SCN Country Case Studies (Angola, Bolivia, Brazil and Mozambique) can be found here. An Executive Summary of the Synthesis can be found here. 

Copies of the full case studies can be found below:

• Angola Case Study in Portuguese
• Bolivia Case Study in Spanish
• Brazil Case Study in English and in Portuguese
• Mozambique Case Study in Portuguese

Previous Country Case Studies

Brazil: The Improvement in Child Nutritional Status in Brazil:  How Did it Occur? RF Iunes and CA Monteiro. September 1993.

Egypt: Review of Trends, Policies and Programmes Affecting Nutrition and Health in Egypt (1970-1990).H Nassar, W Moussa, A Kamel and A Miniawi.  January 1992.

India: Nutrition in India.  V Reddy, M Shekar, P Rao and S Gillespie.  December 1992.

Indonesia: Economic Growth, Equity and Nutritional Improvement in Indonesia. IT Soekirman, GS Idrus Jus'at and F Jalal.  December 1992.

Tanzania: Nutrition-Relevant Actions in Tanzania. FP Kavishe. April 1993.

Zimbabwe: Nutrition-Relevant Actions in Zimbabwe. J Tagwireyi, T Jayne and N Lenneiye. December 1992. 

Thailand: Nutrition and Health in Thailand: Trends and Actions. Y Kachondham, P Winichagoon and K Tontisirin. December 1992.

Nutrition: A foundation for development

The international nutrition community has made great advances in understanding the root causes, effects and magnitude of global malnutrition and human suffering. However much work remains. Members of the international nutrition community recognize the need to better integrate their work with the work of its partners in development.

Nutrition: A Foundation For Development (2002) is a compilation of briefs on of the latest research findings in nutrition as they relate to other development sectors. The briefs are designed to facilitate dialogue between nutrition and other development professionals. They are organized both as a complete set or as stand-alone briefs that make the case for integrating nutrition into the work of the development community, as well as a PowerPoint presentation for advocacy purposes.

Stand Alone Briefs:

• No 1. Nutrition: Making the Case English  -  Spanish 
• No 2. Nutrition and Education English  -  Spanish
• No 3. Nutrition and Population English  -  Spanish
• No 4. Nutrition and Health English  -  Spanish
• No 5. Nutrition and The Environment English  -  Spanish 
• No 6. Nutrition and Agriculture English  -  Spanish
• No 7. Nutrition and Gender English  -  Spanish
• No 8. Nutrition and Poverty English  -  Spanish
• No 9. Nutrition and Crises English  -  Spanish 
• No 10. Nutrition and Human Rights English  -  Spanish 
• No 11. Nutrition and Communities English  -  Spanish
• No 12. Nutrition and Politics English  -  Spanish 

Complete sets (PDF or Power Point)

• English Version - Nutrition: A Foundation for Development (PDF) -  (Power Point)
  
• Spanish Version - Nutrición: La Base para el Desarrollo (PDF)  -  (Power Point)

An informal Farsi translation by Reza Amani and Davoud Vahabzadeh has kindly been made available to the SCN for its Farsi readership. Dr Amani is Head, Department of Nutrition, Ahvaz Jundi-Shapour University of Medical Sciences, Davoud Vahabzadeh is an MSc student at the Ahvaz Jundi-Shapour University of Medical Sciences. 

Nutrition impacts of the global food and financial crises

The SCN has recently prepared two briefs on the nutrition impacts of the global financial and food crisis:

• Global recession increases malnutrition for the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Pregnant women and children are hardest hit (2009). This 4-pager briefing note is a technical note drawing on recent information from the SCN member agencies, scholarly papers, and preliminary results from the forthcoming SCN 6th Report on the World Nutrition Situation. The brief builds on the background document entitled "The Impact of High Food Prices on Maternal and Child Nutrition" developed for the SCN Side Event at the 34th Session of the Committee on World Food Security, Rome, October, 2008. The recommendations made for responding to the food price crises remain appropriate for mitigating the nutritional effects of the global recession.
• Global financial and economic crisis - the most vulnerable are at increased risk of hunger and malnutrition (2009). This 2-pager briefing note is a shorter and less technical version of the above note. It is intended used for advocacy for the importance of nutrition to decision-makers, politicians and press. 

Brief on the SCN

On 11 February 2009, Save the Children convened a seminar in London to discuss the food crisis, in particular soaring food prices, and the international nutrition architecture. The attendees discussed how the response to rising food prices can lead to faster reductions in malnutrition and agreed that the time is right to bring together the discussion on the nutrition architecture which has been evolving for some time and the demand created by the food price crisis for a more coherent and powerful nutrition agenda. It was noted that the SCN Chair is committed to raising the political profile of nutrition. In a brief on the SCN distributed and read out at the meeting, it was emphasized that the SCN provides a unique mechanism for effectively linking agriculture and health for good nutrition and for the UN agencies and its partners to work together to reinstall nutrition at the top of the international agenda.