Challenges Associated with Formulation of Urban-Based Food and Nutrition Policy in Surabaya City, Indonesia

Following the enactment of Law No. 18/2012 on Food, the Govenment of Indonesia mandated all districts/cities to translate a 5-yearly National Food and Nutrition Action Plan to address food security and nutrition problems suited with the local context. However, until 2019 only 18 of 514 districs/cities that has manifested this mandate. That the National Regulation is is more suitable for rural contect, challenges to translate the mandate into urban context are obvious. This study assessed how the Surabaya city develops an implementable food and nutrition action plan complying with the national mandate and the adjustments to fit the action plan with urban characteristics. A structured observational study of individual behaviour in developing a policy document was conducted in Surabaya city from May to December 2018. The Food and Nutrition Action Plan in Surabaya city was developed by the multi-stakeholders forum to allow participation from related stakeholders. Because city has insufficient capacity to self-produce the food, therefore the Surabaya City Food and Nutrition Action Plan focused on maintaining food distribution and affordability, which are not among the outcomes indicators of the national guideline. To prioritizing nutrition issues on the action plan, it must be ensured that the issues are also included in the city Medium-Term Development Plan. Otherwise, it will not be funded despite the national government mandates it. Unfortunately, food and nutrition issues are less prioritized in the Surabaya development plan. It is challenging to translate the national mandate to the city-level food and nutrition policy when there is no clear, differentiated reference policy for urban area. The completed Surabaya City Food and Nutrition Action Plan needs to be legalized by the City Mayor to ensure the implementation and monitoring. The support for the action plan implementation and monitoring is needed so that the outcomes of the food and nutrition action can be experienced by all the citizens in Surabaya.