THE UN SYSTEM’S FORUM FOR NUTRITION
SUB-COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION
(ACC/SCN)

The Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), which is comprised of the heads of the UN Agencies, recommended the establishment of the Sub-Committee on Nutrition (SCN) in 1977, following the World Food Conference (with particular reference to Resolution V on food and nutrition). This was approved by the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC). The role of the SCN is to serve as a coordinating mechanism, for exchange of information and technical guidance, and to act dynamically to help the UN respond to nutritional problems around the world.

The UN members of the SCN are FAO, IAEA, IFAD, ILO, UN, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRISD, UNU, WFP, WHO and the World Bank. From the outset, representatives of bilateral donor agencies have participated actively in SCN activities. The SCN is assisted by the Advisory Group on Nutrition (AGN), with six experienced individuals drawn from relevant disciplines and with wide geographical representation. The Secretariat is hosted by WHO in Geneva.

The SCN undertakes a range of activities to meet its mandate. Annual meetings have representation from the appropriate UN Agencies, from 10 to 20 donor agencies, the AGN, as well as invitees on specific topics; these meetings begin with symposia on subjects of current importance for policy. The SCN brings certain such matters to the attention of the ACC. The SCN sponsors working groups on specialized areas of nutrition.

The SCN compiles and disseminates information on nutrition, reflecting the shared views of the agencies concerned. Regular reports on the world nutrition situation are issued and external resources to address nutrition problems are assessed. State-of-the-Art papers are produced to summarise current knowledge on selected topics. SCN News is normally published twice a year, As decided by the Sub-Committee, initiatives are taken to promote coordinated activities - inter-agency programmes, meetings, publications - aimed at reducing malnutrition, primarily in developing countries.

SCN NEWS No. 17 was edited by Cathy Needham and Elizabeth Johnston.
The nutrition in emergencies section was compiled by Jane Wallace.
Illustrations by Lindsay Barrett and Jacqueline Hatch.

SCN NEWS is issued in July and December each year by the Secretariat of the UN ACC Sub-Committee on Nutrition.

Your contributions to future issues would be most welcome.
SCN NEWS aims to help the sharing of experience in nutrition.

If you wish to receive additional copies of SCN NEWS, or would like to suggest other names to be added to our distribution list, please write to us:

Chairman: Richard Jolly
Special Advisor to the Administrator
United Nations Development Programme
One United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Telephone: 1 212 906 5764, Fax: 1 212 906 6661
EMail: [email protected]

Technical Secretary: Sonya Rabeneck
ACC/SCN c/o World Health Organization
20, Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Telephone: 1 41-22 791 04 56, Fax: 1 41-22 798 88 91
EMail: [email protected]

SCN NEWS aims to provide information on issues of importance in the field of international nutrition.

The status of quotes and other material is generally indicated in the text and/or sources.

Items in SCN NEWS may be reproduced without prior permission, but please attribute to the ACC/SCN.

We gratefully acknowledge funding assistance from the
Government of the Netherlands and UNAIDS for the preparation and printing of this issues of SCN NEWS.

The findings, interpretations and views expressed in this publication we are actively those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official policy or positions of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)