Addressing undernutrition in external assistance

The EU Reference Document on Addressing Undernutrition in External Assistance seeks to help transform aid programmes so that they can achieve real progress in preventing undernutrition. It provides a detailed description of how nutrition benefits can be realised by modifying the design of programmes in all relevant sectors and thematic areas — from health to governance, food security to gender. Nutrition-specific objectives need to be incorporated in the design of assistance programmes – whatever the sector or aid modality – thereby seeking and measuring specific results on nutrition. Tackling undernutrition thus becomes the responsibility of all, not just left to technical experts.

This Reference Document is intended as a resource to guide the practical incorporation of nutrition objectives into relevant sectors and different funding modalities used by the European Union (EU) — whether in development cooperation or in humanitarian response. It is targeted primarily at aid administrators working within country teams — delegations of the EU and offices of Member States.

The Reference Document has been structured and written in such a way that the chapters can be read independently.

The only exception to this is humanitarian assistance, because there are no absolute divisions between emergency nutrition interventions and development interventions. To ensure sustainable progress on nutrition and save lives, there is a need for contiguity between nutrition emergency action and development. The critical requirement, always, is to ensure that the situation is analysed as fully as possible to determine the best course of action.