El Salvador: Protecting children: towards a coordinated food security and nutritional programme for El Salvador

A sharp decline in remittances, augmented by rising food and fuel prices, has spiked poverty and malnutrition levels in El Salvador. In 2008, extreme poverty rose by 6.5%, and 87% of poor households reduced food consumption levels. El Salvador’s important gains toward fulfilling the MDGs in areas like hunger and poverty reduction (MDG 1) and improved infant mortality rates (MDG 4) are seriously threatened.

This Joint Programme's aim is to build consensus and strengthen the government's capacity to set forth integrated approaches to alleviate child hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. It targets institutions at the national level as well as in three poverty-stricken Northeastern municipalities.

The initiative is advancing the integration of monitoring & evaluation information systems and promoting multi-stakeholder consensus in the design and implementation of child nutrition and food security plans. It focuses particularly on increasing the participation of women and indigenous populations.