The Role of Non-Government Organizations in Promoting Nutrition and Public Health

摘要

Recent changes in the world have posed considerable challenges to NGO programs. Global trade, rapid urbanization, increased civil conflicts and political instability, and the growing threat of HIV/AIDS will call for new programming approaches to address the causes of poverty and malnutrition. Reduced development funding has hampered more responsive programming, and more stringent stipulations have been placed on the use of donor funds that are allocated. To free NGOs from these funding constraints, and to improve the effectiveness of their programs, NGOs are working towards building coalitions among themselves and with diverse organizations such as the private sector, the government and civil society institutions. Transformative advances in public health and nutrition will only come about if we take bold and different approaches to tackling the problems. Projectized approaches of the past will most likely not have the kind of impact we are seeking. Increasing the impact of NGOs in the areas of public health and nutrition will require that NGOs employ the universal principles of human rights to define the goals and tasks they pursue. By combining these shared principles with a livelihood approach, NGOs will be better able to understand the contextual factors underlying malnutrition, morbidity and mortality.