Advancing nutrition policy: Challenges and strategies

Abstract

The Lancet Nutrition Series estimated that global nutritional stunting could reduced by 36% with full implementation of current evidence‐based interventions but little systematic research exists concerning the political and systemic factors that inhibit or enable such implementation. These factors were studied in Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Vietnam and Bangladesh through participant‐observation, document review and interviews. Key findings are: a) high‐level political attention to nutrition was generated through varied strategies but political commitment and system commitment remained elusive; b) mid‐level actors from ministries and external partners had difficulty translating political opportunities into concrete implementation plans due to capacity constraints, disagreements over priority interventions, delivery strategies, ownership, roles, and responsibilities; and c) field implementation was severely hampered by capacity constraints from national to front‐line levels. These findings suggest that investments to identify evidence‐based nutrition interventions are unlikely to reduce malnutrition unless there are commensurate investments to understand and address political and systemic capacity constraints that influence implementation. Supported by a grant from The World Bank.