7. Significance
Globally there is enough food for everyone, but inequitable access is a glaring problem. Therefore, understanding factors affecting household food and nutrition security and developing guiding principles to be incorporated in national nutrition policies and programme will be significant for:
- Improving nutritional well-being of the most nutritionally vulnerable groups through enhanced access to adequate social and care environment within the household;
- Enhancing a understanding of women’s reproductive, nurturing, educational and economic roles, which are fundamental to the health and nutritional well-being of both the household and the entire community;
- Ensuring meaningful equity between men and women and encouraging equitable distribution of food and other resources within the household, among all its members.
Many WHO collaborative programmes have important household food security components. Therefore, ultimately, significant improvement of household food and nutrition security will contribute to the attainment of health for all in the 21st century.