A review of the advances and challenges in nutrition in conflicts and crises over the last 20 years.

Over the last decade the media has played in increasingly important role shaping the nature of the humanitarian response. High profile emergencies that have involved political diplomatic and military engagement have been the focus of resources. However it is important to note that much of our work as public nutritionists focuses on the less visible emergencies where challenges are often much greater in terms of the populations affected and the complexity of response. The international community is being faced with new injustices and new challenges to ensure the human right for adequate food and nutrition. This paper is intended to remind us of where we have come from in emergency nutrition and to highlight how far we have to go before the rights of disaster-affected communities are respected and upheld in today’s world. The main purpose of this paper is to assess the principle advances made over the past years in nutrition in conflicts and crises and to propose direction for further advances in the field. The term ‘advances’ refers to developments in technical knowledge and nutrition policy and practice. The Project Cycle Management is used as a framework for presenting these advances and the challenges that remain. Specifically the paper (excerpt)