The politics of reducing malnutrition

The authors recognise that the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement has both driven, and been driven by, developing momentum in the political discourse about the challenges of undernutrition.  This momentum has led to commitments made from governments, international organisations and donors and  improved harmonisation among stakeholders. The authors focus on what they explain is the neglected area of action in addressing undernutrition, that is the environments and processes that underpin and shape political and policy processes that can support nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. They explore the following fundamental aspects:The authors focus on what they explain is the neglected area of action in addressing undernutrition, that is the environments and processes that underpin and shape political and policy processes that can support nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. They explore the following fundamental aspects:

• how enabling environments and processes be cultivated, sustained, and ultimately translated into results on the ground
• How high-level political momentum has successfully been generated
• What needs to happen to turn this momentum into results
• How high-quality, well-resourced interventions for nutrition are available to those who need them
• How nutrition-sensitive interventions (agriculture, social protection, and water and sanitation systems and programmes) have been successfully and proactively reoriented to support nutrition goals.

The authors also highlight that operational research of delivery, implementation, and scale-up of interventions, and contextual analyses about how to shape and sustain enabling environments, is essential as the focus shifts toward action.Key messages:

• Framing nutrition as a non-political issue is both short-sighted and self-defeating.
• Emerging country experiences show that rates of undernutrition reduction can be accelerated with deliberate action.
• Politicians and policy makers who want to promote broad-based growth and prevent human suffering should prioritise investment in scale-up of nutrition-specific interventions, and should maximise the nutrition sensitivity of national development processes.
• Findings from studies of nutrition governance and policy processes broadly concur on three factors that shape enabling environments: knowledge and evidence, politics and governance, and capacity and resources.
• Framing of undernutrition reduction as an non-political issue is short sighted and self-defeating. Political calculations are at the basis of effective coordination between sectors, national and subnational levels, private sector engagement, resource mobilisation, and state accountability to its citizens.
• Political commitment can be developed in a short time, but commitment must not be squandered—conversion to results needs a different set of strategies and skills
• Leadership for nutrition, at all levels, and from various perspectives, is fundamentally important for creating and sustaining momentum and for conversion of that momentum into results on the ground.
• Acceleration and sustaining of progress in nutrition will not be possible without national and global support to a long-term process of strengthening systemic and organisational capacities.

The private sector has substantial potential to contribute to improvements in nutrition, but efforts to realise this have to date been hindered by a scarcity of credible evidence and trust. Both these issues need substantial attention if the positive potential is to be realised.To read the article, click here. Free subscription is required to access the full article.