The Sultanate of Oman launched the National Nutrition Strategy on Thursday to achieve food security and eliminate all forms of malnutrition in addition to enhancing nutrition for life by 2030.
The National Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030, which is derived from Oman Vision 2040, will be implemented by the public and private sectors to strengthen the health and nutrition status of the community.
The Sultanate of Oman has made great progress in reducing the prevalence of various forms of undernourishment in the past four decades against the perceived rapid social and economic development. However, the prevalence of some forms of undernourishment remains significantly high, with 11.4 per cent of children under five suffering from stunting (chronic malnutrition) and 9.3 per cent suffering from wasting (acute malnutrition), as per the National Nutrition Survey 2017.
The strategy was unveiled in a meeting in Muscat by Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Mohammed al Saidi in the presence of top officials from WHO, FAO and MoH.
In the opening address, Dr Saeed al Lamki, Director-General of Primary Health Care, said that health is the responsibility of all, pointing out that the Sultanate of Oman is launching the nutrition strategy to exploit the expertise of WHO and FAO in addressing some risk factors in the community.
Dr Ahmed al Mandhari, Regional Director of WHO-EMR, highlighted the Sultanate of Oman’s achievements in nutrition that is seen for example in reducing the stunting prevalence rate over two past decades.
WHO representative in Oman, Dr Jean Jabbour pointed out that the strategy is important to enhance nutrition and improve health in society.
Like other Eastern Mediterranean Region countries, the Sultanate of Oman is experiencing a nutritional transition as other forms of malnutrition, including overweight, obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (N-NCDs) are becoming increasingly important.
Oman’s National Nutrition Strategy vision for the next ten years aligns well with the WHO Regional Nutrition Strategy, which predicts that “Oman has strengthened action on nutrition to achieve food security, eliminate all forms of malnutrition and improve life-course nutrition by 2030”.
The objective of the strategy is to ensure universal access to healthy and sustainable diets, and implement effective nutritional actions, targeting a life-cycle approach to mothers, infants, children, adolescents and the elderly in all settings including emergencies.
Moreover, the strategy sets out the specific goals to be achieved, as well as the basic principles and strategic approach that includes multi-sectoral action and addressing social challenges affecting health indicators.
The strategy and its framework identified a multisectoral approach, across the whole of government and community to address the persistent problems of stunting and wasting as well as the increasing problems of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.
