Politic and policies for food and nutrition security: meanings given by urban community leaders and residents of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Authors

  • Marie Agnès Aliaga Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Programa Integrado de Pesquisa e Cooperação Técnica Comunidade, Família e Saúde: Sujeitos, Contextos e Políticas Públicas https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5518-6912
  • Sandra Chaves dos Santos Universidade Federal da Bahia. Escola de Nutrição. Núcleo de Pesquisa Nutrição e Políticas Públicas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4706-0284
  • Leny Alves Bomfim Trad Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Programa Integrado de Pesquisa e Cooperação Técnica Comunidade, Família e Saúde: Sujeitos, Contextos e Políticas Públicas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8762-4320

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902019180849

Keywords:

Food and Nutrition Security, Public Policy, State, Focus Groups, Community-Based Participatory Research

Abstract

The program Fome Zero and the resulting Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) policies have turned Brazil into an international reference for social technologies that promote access to food. This article analyzes the perceptions of community leaders and/or residents of a poor neighborhood in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, regarding the State’s action in FNS. The methodology combined conceptual maps and focus group that were implemented in two different moments (2014 and 2016, respectively) of a participatory action research. Results highlight, at both times, the distance of local actors regarding FNS policies. At the beginning of the action research, perceptions on FNS emphasized individuals’ responsibility, showing the unawareness on the human right to food. Two years later, narratives ofthe focus group heavily criticized the State for not complying with its obligations. In the participants’ discourse, hunger and food and nutrition insecurity appear as both the expression and the instrument of historically established oppression systems – racial, patriarchal, and of social class. The discussion on which interests are defended by the State brings forward the issue of democracy and representativeness. The distrust regarding social and FNS policies constitute a crucial problem to be explored in the current context of policy decommissioning and democratic setbacks.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2019-11-09

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Politic and policies for food and nutrition security: meanings given by urban community leaders and residents of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. (2019). Saúde E Sociedade, 28(4), 124-136. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902019180849