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Executive Summary
Context
Nutrition is a crucial pillar for the development of a healthy, productive nation. While impressive economic gains have been made, Cambodia's vision to become an upper-middle income nation by 2030 and achieve high-income status by 2050 relies on fully developing human capital potential. Current malnutrition rates (stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity) undermine productivity and strain health systems. Poor nutrition impairs people’s ability to engage actively as productive members of the workforce and results in significant healthcare costs. Ending all forms of malnutrition is critical for Cambodia to harness this development potential. Coordinated action, leadership and strengthened partnerships can change trajectories for good.
New evidence from the Fill the Nutrient Gap analysis offers timely guidance and a narrative for change. The Fill the Nutrient Gap (FNG) analysis was conducted in Cambodia in 2022-2023 by WFP and UNICEF in collaboration with the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), and line ministries, UN agencies, development partners, NGOs, and private sector actors.
Insights showcase persisting gaps and identify barriers from economic vulnerabilities to food systems challenges including supply-side issues, poor food environments, and inadequate consumption and suboptimal infant feeding practices. Climate change risks placing healthy diets out of reach of the most vulnerable and heightens stresses on supply and access to healthy diets.
This new analysis equips decision-makers with integrated solutions across food, health, and social protection systems attuned to realities of Cambodia’s rapid development transition. The analysis serves as a key input in the design of forthcoming Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition, 2024-2028 and other national strategies and to operationalize Cambodia’s Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2030 with the aim to nourish Cambodia's shared potential, as per the new Pentagonal Strategy.
Methodology FNG is a multisectoral stakeholder engagement and analytical process which seeks to identify the obstacles that households face in accessing and consuming a nutritious diet, and prioritize actions to overcome them.
It consists of two main components: a country-specific review of secondary literature to characterize the food system and nutrition situation, and linear programming using the ENHANCE platform to estimate the cost of meeting nutrient needs across the life cycle as well as the environmental impact of diets.
Based on these cost results and household expenditure data from the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES), the portion of the population that cannot afford to meet nutrient needs was estimated. This was followed by the modelling of stakeholder identified interventions across multiple sectors to assess their contribution to reducing non-affordability. The implications of the findings were discussed with stakeholders working across multiple systems including food, health, social protection and environment, to reach a shared understanding of the main barriers. Using this information, stakeholders prioritized interventions for improving access to nutritious foods.