THE FOOD-FIRST BIAS AND NUTRITION POLICY - LESSONS FROM ETHIOPIA

As in many countries from sub-Saharan Africa, nutrition policy in Ethi opia is dominated by a focus on national and household food production and food security. The results of the 1992 national rural nutrition s urvey, and a substantial body of evidence and theory from other settin gs, challenge this view. In Ethiopia, high levels of chronic malnutrit ion exist in food deficit and food surplus regions alike, and all regi ons have experienced worsening of nutritional status during the last d ecade. Moreover, child nutritional status is only weakly and inconsist ently associated with size of cultivated area. Nutrition surveillance and other empirically-based efforts to improve policy should give expl icit attention to policy education as an integral part of their stated objective and workplan.