county nutrition action plan - Nutrition International

“Through integrated, multisecotr interventions that address the key determinants of nutrition and gender equality, [REACTS-IN] aims to reclaim the nutrition gains lost in recent years.

—Martha Nyagaya, Country Director for Kenya, Nutrition International

Initiated through an agreement signed with Global Affairs Canada in May 2023 and followed by a partnership agreement between World Vision Canada and Nutrition International in November 2023, REACTS-IN aligns with Canada’s commitment to global health and Nutrition International’s vision of a world free from malnutrition, where everyone can reach their full potential. During the launch event, distinguished guest of honor, H.E. Wisley Rotich, Governor of Elgeyo Marakwet, along with county leadership, including the county assembly, pledged their unwavering support to the project, particularly emphasizing the critical issue of teenage pregnancies across the nation.

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="image_123" image_url="https://www.nutritionintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Martha-Nyagaya-participating-in-the-exhibition.jpg" image_alt="A group of people stand in a front of a table with food on it" caption="Event attendees participated in a nutrition education demonstration, where they learned about the importance of consuming a varied and balanced diet."]

As the project rolls out, Nutrition International will focus on strengthening the delivery of equitable, gender-responsive adolescent health and nutrition services. This includes providing nutrition education to both boys and girls, as well as WIFAS for adolescent girls to reduce anaemia. Additionally, Nutrition International will support the development of costed anaemia action plans to address the multifaceted, context-specific causes of anaemia. The launch of REACTS-IN signifies more than just a project launch, it represents a pivotal step towards a healthier, more equitable future for Kenya’s youth. Through education, supplementation and a commitment to addressing gender-specific issues, the initiative is set to transform the nutrition landscape for thousands of young Kenyans, enabling them to grow, thrive and realize their full potential.

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="image_456" image_url="https://www.nutritionintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Some-adolescent-girls-from-Kamosor-secondary-school-making-a-presentation-on-importance-of-good-nutrition.jpg" image_alt="A group of adolescent girls and boys standing in a semi-circle" caption="Adolescents from Kamosor Secondary School delivered a presentation on the importance of good nutrition during the launch event."]

The event was attended by H.E. Wisley Rotich, Governor of Elgeyo Marakwet, along with numerous development partners, county officials, religious and political leaders, adolescents from various schools and community health promoters who delivered presentations reinforcing the core nutrition messages of the project. Learn more about the REACTS-IN project and Nutrition International’s work to improve the health and nutrition of women, adolescent girls and children in Kenya. [post_title] => A new era of health: REACTS-IN transforms adolescent nutrition in Kenya [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => reacts-in-transforms-adolescent-nutrition-kenya [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-07-02 08:53:29 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-07-02 12:53:29 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=24904 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 23754 [post_author] => 54 [post_date] => 2023-12-18 09:00:28 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-12-18 14:00:28 [post_content] => Whether child survival or adolescent health, maternal and newborn health and nutrition or large-scale food fortification, Nutritional International works in partnership with governments, donors, and implementers to improve the nutritionally status of people globally. Take a trip around the world as you explore some of our best stories profiling the people and projects at the heart of what we do. Read on as we share 10 of our highlights of 2023 and take a look at our 2022-2023 Annual Report to learn more about our global impact in nutrition.

Empowering futures: A global milestone in adolescent nutrition

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="video" video_url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qkDsNVVIsrE?si=Krczy3iStwRHQDs7&controls=0" video_title="Video Player" caption="Why does nutrition matter to you? Adolescent girls answer."]

The right nutrition at the right time is critical for any young person to realize their full potential. This is particularly true during adolescence, the second most rapid period of growth with the highest nutritional needs after infancy. Recognizing this, the World Health Organization accepted Nutrition International’s submission to add the new weekly iron and folic acid supplementation (WIFAS) formula to the Model List of Essential Medicines. This pivotal decision is set to accelerate adolescent nutrition, reduce anaemia and lower the incidence of neural tube defects in pregnancies for adolescent girls and women in low- and middle-income countries. Dr. Marion Roche, Nutrition International’s Senior Technical Advisor, Adolescents’ and Women’s Health and Nutrition, delves into the five-year journey leading up to this landmark achievement and explores what it means for adolescent girls and women around the world. Read the blog: Empowering futures: A global milestone in adolesent nutrition

A look at fortified rice distributed through social safety net programs in Bangladesh

A mother and her son sit on a colourful mat in their home. The mother is feeding her son, a child under 10 years old, a lunch that includes rice fortified with micronutrients.

Rice is a household staple in Bangladesh. That makes it a promising prospect for food fortification. Fortifying staple foods with essential vitamins and micronutrients is a proven and cost‐effective intervention that improves the nutritional quality of food for populations at large. Leveraging social safety net programs, which are well established on a wide scale in Bangladesh, is a direct way to connect people with more nutritious food, and address micronutrient deficiencies that exist in the country.

Visit a distribution point for fortified rice, go inside a manufacturing facility to see how rice kernels receive their fortification glow-up, and follow the packaged product as it becomes a midday meal. Read the photo essay: A look at fortified rice distributed through social safety net programs

Follow the vitamin A to hard-to-reach areas in Nigeria

Baby smiling while receiving vitamin A capsule

Vitamin A is a critical micronutrient for children under five, offering protection against illnesses, infections and preventable deaths, while building immunity. In the challenging terrain of Jigawa, a rural state in northwest Nigeria, hazardous roads hindered the delivery of essential resources like vitamin A supplementation (VAS). Nutrition International helped overcome this obstacle by providing the national supply of vitamin A capsules through its in-kind donation program with UNICEF and offering technical and financial support to Maternal Newborn and Child Health Weeks (MNCHW). The biannual week ensures children under five receive vital health and nutrition services, including VAS, deworming and essential childhood vaccinations. Now, when heavy rains flood the dirt roads in Jigawa, vitamin A supplements are securely transported on motorbikes to reach health workers who deliver them to the children in the state. Explore this journey, through photos, during a MNCHW in Kwanda town, where health workers are delivering this life-saving intervention to ensure the children in their community can survive and thrive. Read the photo essay: Delivering vitamin A supplementation to hard-to-reach areas

Women at the centre of implementation design in Pakistan

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="video" video_url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WPH6_PwrHNo?si=uBfXVNf-JYYuICXS" video_title="Video Player" caption="Implementation research on multiple micronutrient supplementation in Swabi, Pakistan"]

For decades, pregnant women in Pakistan received daily iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements to reduce the risk of maternal anaemia. But the Government of Pakistan is now exploring replacing IFA with a different supplement: multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS). MMS is a prenatal supplement with 15 essential vitamins and minerals. It has been found to be just as effective as IFA at reducing the risk of maternal anaemia, while being more effective in improving birth outcomes.

Nutrition International is supporting the Government of Pakistan by conducting implementation research on MMS. It will inform approaches to strengthen nutrition counselling, supportive supervision and family engagement when healthcare providers deliver MMS as part of their maternal nutrition services. Watch what happens as a pregnant woman goes for an antenatal check-up at a basic health unit in Swabi District.

Breaking gender barriers to improve maternal health in Kenya

A man in an orange vest wears his helmet sitting on top of a motorcycle that he drives as a taxi service.

In Murang’a County, Kenya, motorcycle taxis are more than just a means of transportation. The drivers, many of whom are dads, are participating in a father-to-father support group that challenges gender stereotypes and norms to increase male engagement in nutrition and caregiving. Formed through domestic funding from a joint partnership agreement between Nutrition International and the Government of Murang’a County, these support groups, guided by community health volunteers and a nutrition coordinator, gather regularly to discuss topics related to maternal, newborn and child health. As a result, group members and their families are noticing positive changes at home. Read the story: Driving change for fathers in Kenya

Sumedang shines: Exploring stunting reduction in Indonesia

In Indonesia, almost one out of every three children are stunted, with dramatic variations across provinces. In partnership with Save the Children, Nutrition International launched the Better Investment for Stunting Alleviation (BISA) project that aims to translate the Government of Indonesia’s National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting into effective action at the sub-national level. Situated in the northern province of West Java, Sumedang district is making significant strides and has been awarded the best district for stunting reduction for three consecutive years. This success can be attributed to the district government’s unwavering commitment and BISA’s interventions that focus on improving nutrition before pregnancy and during the first 1,000 days — from conception to a child’s second birthday. Discover how this transformative collaboration is making a change through health systems strengthening, digital innovation and supply chain management. Read the story: Sumedang shines: Exploring stunting reduction in Indonesia

Frontline workers in action in Tanzania

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="video" video_url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QF7Mvv60JaA?si=VPmFmD7WLuq34q7d" video_title="Video Player" caption="Improving maternal and newborn health in Tanzania"]

Frontline workers play a key role and often are the initial point of contact to guide women through their pregnancy journeys. Yet, in Tanzania, numerous barriers hinder pregnant women from attending primary healthcare facilities in a timely and consistent manner. In collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, Nutrition International works to improve the survival, nutrition and health of pregnant women, mothers and newborns through comprehensive health system strengthening. This includes building the capacity of frontline health workers to deliver quality care. Watch these frontline workers in action and see the impact they have on pregnant women and new mothers in Tanzania.

Technical assistance supports Seqota Declaration to end stunting in Ethiopia

Nutrition International is supporting the Government of Ethiopia to plan, coordinate and implement the Seqota Declaration. Adopted in 2015, the declaration brings together various sectors, communities and development partners to focus on high-impact nutrition interventions with the ultimate goal of eliminating stunting and under nutrition in children under two in Ethiopia by 2030.

We talk to two of Nutrition International’s consultants – embedded in the government over the long-term — who are using their expertise to help the government achieve their ambitious mission. Read the story: Planning for success: Technical assistance supports the Seqota Declaration to end stunting

Challenging period stigma to improve menstrual health in India

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="video" video_url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ESTctj_VaA" video_title="Video Player" caption="From menstrual misconceptions to period empowerment"]

Period stigma, misinformation and lack of access to resources can hinder adolescent girls’ participation in daily activities, including attending school. As part of our adolescent nutrition program, Nutrition International launched a menstrual health management project in Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh, India in partnership with the state government. This included training teachers to provide students with education on menstrual health to empower them to better manage their menses and become self-advocates for their own health and nutrition. See the program in action and learn how we’re shattering stigmas and making a difference in the lives of students and their families.

From sea to table: Tackling iodine deficiency disorders in Senegal

A woman stands in the middle of a salt field in Senegal.

Senegal is one of the largest producers and exporters of salt in the West Africa sub-region. When fortified with iodine, this commonly consumed condiment has the power to combat iodine deficiency disorders. Iodine is critical for optimal brain development, particularly during fetal development and early childhood stages. Nutrition International actively supports the Government of Senegal’s universal salt iodization program, providing technical and financial assistance to ensure the population has widespread access to this key micronutrient. Join us on a visual journey as we explore the meticulous process of iodizing salt and introduce the players who are bringing it from sea to table in Senegal. Read the story: From sea to table: Senegal’s salt heroes tackle iodine deficiency disorders As we bid farewell to 2023, our commitment is stronger than ever. The battle against malnutrition is at a pivotal juncture and we are poised to forge ahead with renewed determination to ensure that the people we exist to serve have access to the right nutrition at the right time. Read our 2022-2023 Annual Report to learn more about our global impact in nutrition. [post_title] => Ten must see global nutrition stories from 2023 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => ten-global-nutrition-stories-2023 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:10:49 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:10:49 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=23754 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 22019 [post_author] => 35 [post_date] => 2023-02-07 14:57:15 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-02-07 14:57:15 [post_content] => Africa’s vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs are at a crossroads. Even before the polycrisis wreaked havoc on national health systems, VAS coverage had been dropping across the continent. The reason? Countries have increasingly struggled to secure funding for the high-coverage campaigns they have historically relied on to ensure children 6 to 59 months of age receive their twice-yearly dose. The result has been clear and worrisome as countries have been forced to rely on existing, routine primary healthcare contact points for their VAS delivery, without the plans or resources needed to deliver VAS alongside other essential nutrition and health services. There is consensus that the path to sustainable, high-coverage vitamin A programs means integrating VAS into primary healthcare systems. However, more technical leadership is needed – not just how to plan for the necessary transition toward full integration, but also what it means for a country in practical, real terms to operationalize the transition while strengthening the health system along the way. This includes guidance on what structures need to be further supported, how to plan for, resource, and deliver VAS with the necessary quality at subnational and community levels, and how these services are to be monitored and evaluated. Nutrition International convened a regional technical meeting in Dakar, Senegal in January 2023 to respond to an expressed need for technical assistance from countries. The meeting aimed to build participants’ capacity through South-South learning and sharing of technical tools and frameworks developed by Nutrition International and implemented in three Nutrition International-supported countries, and the varied country experiences to-date – all designed to lead to co-creation of viable strategies moving forward. The meeting was attended by 100 high-level delegates, representing nutrition, immunization, and health information department heads, and decision-makers from Ministries of Health from 16 countries[1] across Africa, as well as country, regional and global-level technical partners, including UNICEF and Helen Keller International. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, as a global leader in VAS, Nutrition International is uniquely placed to offer leadership and technical assistance to countries dedicated to improving their VAS coverage rates. Here are five ways that we’ll be supporting action on vitamin A this year and beyond: 1. Advocating for the fully protected child. The last three years have seen a surge in polio and measles outbreaks. In response, the international community has doubled down on routine immunization efforts. And whenever there is a challenge, there is also an opportunity. Immunization and nutrition target the same children in the same places and yet, all too often, interventions are planned, funded, delivered and monitored independently. In countries across sub-Saharan Africa, coverage of immunization is higher than many crucial nutrition interventions. In practice, this means that children are being reached with their scheduled vaccination from a health worker but are not receiving their age-appropriate VAS doses, representing a missed opportunity to advance from “fully immunized” to “fully protected”. Expanding this approach out to delivery platforms designed to reach older children, past the ages of 12 and 18 months, is also critical to ensure children receive all nine life-saving doses of vitamin A. 2. Integrating VAS into existing delivery platforms and sectors. VAS should be integrated into existing platforms within the health system already designed to deliver services to children under five, such as growth monitoring and promotion, and nutrition screening. In addition, where they exist, early childhood development centres can be optimized to be an additional outreach contact point to ensure children over the age of three in the most vulnerable situations are not missed. In Kenya, Nutrition International took a “no missed opportunities” approach, working closely with County Health Management Teams to assess the opportunities and challenges of all the platforms within the health system that were recommended as contact points for reaching children 6-59 months of age with VAS according to the national policy. Through a three-year optimization effort, Nutrition International supported counties to not only strengthen their delivery platforms to reach children with VAS, but to operationalize the “how” to deliver VAS through those platforms with quality without letting coverage drop: routine immunization, fixed site health system contact points; the community health platform; and early childhood development centres to mop up coverage gaps. 3. Building on best practice. Pathfinder countries have shown us that, when done well, VAS delivered through the routine health system can achieve and sustain high coverage – even when the system is challenged. During the COVID shutdowns, not only did VAS coverage not drop in Kenya, but it actually increased by 10 percentage points, owing in large part to the strength of the community health platform. 4. Recognizing that the transition to routine delivery takes time and needs to be data driven. A phased, systematic, data-driven approach that considers strengths and weaknesses of the health system both at national and sub-national levels is required to ensure that VAS programs are context-specific and sustainable. Consistent high-quality data collection is essential to understanding where gaps exist, what needs to be strengthened, and how to work systematically toward success. One of the first examples of this approach was in the late 2000’s in Ethiopia where, with Nutrition International’s support, the Ministry of Health planned for and then gradually transitioned woredas one-by-one from a “campaign” model to providing VAS through the routine system. Nutrition International worked with the Ministry of Health to identify woredas for inclusion using success criteria and provide woreda-specific technical and operational support including refresher training for health extension workers, supportive supervision and review meetings, behaviour change activities, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring the availability of capsules. Between 2012 and 2016, all 460 Nutrition International-supported woredas delivering VAS via the government's community-level routine health extension program achieved the same high coverage – more than 80% – as the woredas delivering VAS via campaigns. With Nutrition International’s experience, we know this timeline to success can be shortened. 5. Strengthening leadership to build a stronger, more resilient future. Ministries of Health need to take the lead in implementation, and work to ensure high uptake and coverage of essential nutrition and health services. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieve high coverage in the most cost-effective way. Each country has unique strengths and challenges, in some settings a transition to routine is warranted, while different strategies will be needed for others. Nutrition International has an important leadership role to play by keeping a laser focus on increasing and maintaining coverage, while also supporting the development of multi-year, costed, context-specific strategies and plans to build sustainable, resilient VAS programs anchored in the health system. As we reflect on lessons learned and look ahead to the future, we know that making faster, smarter, more strategic, and sustainable progress towards integration of VAS into routine health systems is possible. To do this, we need to scale up what works (and acknowledge what doesn’t), support countries to plan and deliver integrated child health and nutrition packages, and further build the evidence base for how to do this well. As we head into 2023, amidst all the turbulence, complexity, and noise, it’s time to refocus attention on what matters most – the unfinished child survival agenda. [1]Countries that were represented include: Angola, Cote D’Ivoire, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. [post_title] => Five areas for action on vitamin A supplementation for child survival in 2023 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => five-areas-for-action-on-vitamin-a-supplementation-for-child-survival-in-2023 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:11:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:11:18 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=22019 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 21913 [post_author] => 35 [post_date] => 2023-01-17 15:20:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-01-17 15:20:11 [post_content] => Makueni, Kenya – Four Canadian members of parliament visited health and nutrition programs in Makueni County at a time when the county is reeling from the adverse impacts of a prolonged drought and a cost-of-living crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine that have caused widespread hunger and malnutrition in many parts of Kenya and East Africa. The delegation included Members of Parliament Eric Melillo (Kenora), Valerie Bradford (Kitchener–South Hespeler), Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound–Muskoka), and Iqwinder Gaheer (Missisauga–Malton).

“We have witnessed first-hand how the Government of Canada’s support is complementing the efforts of the Government of Makueni County to address malnutrition, particularly for women and children.

— Valerie Bradford, MP

The impact of the drought and the cost-of-living crisis threatens to worsen already dire malnutrition rates in Makueni. One out of 10 children are underweight and one in four children under the age of five are stunted, meaning they have low height-for-age resulting from chronic or recurrent undernutrition. Child malnutrition in Makueni may be attributed to several factors including poor maternal health and nutrition practices, frequent illness and inappropriate feeding and care practices, and widespread poverty which affects 60% of the population. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by malnutrition in the county, with 10.6% of women aged 14-49 underweight, higher than the national average of 8.9%. Two in five pregnant women in Makueni suffer from iron-deficiency anaemia, which is associated with an increased risk of low birthweight babies. The health, human capital, and economic costs of malnutrition in the county are estimated at KSh 372 million, or US $3.6 million. Undernutrition costs the health sector in Makueni approximately KSh 126 million each year. Stunting alone is responsible for 557 cases of primary school grade repetition annually, which costs KSh 6.9 million to the education system and families. Since 2016, the county government has made significant strides to address these problems, with support from the Government of Canada through a partnership with Nutrition International.

“We met development partners, community workers and everyday Kenyans, and have seen the role Canada can play in fostering impactful development policy and support.

— Scott Aitchison, MP

Over the last four years, Makueni increased its budget allocation to nutrition from KSh 331,000 in 2017/18 to KSh 22 million in 2021/22. There has been a marked improvement in deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants from below 70% in 2016 to 92% in 2022. Additionally, vitamin A coverage increased and now stands at over 75%. Schools are also playing a major role with 445 primary and secondary schools implementing nutrition education to boys and girls, as well as weekly iron and folic acid supplementation for girls. “With its country nutrition action plan, the Government of Makueni County has taken concrete action to improve nutrition programs and policies to bolster the health and wellbeing of the population,” said Martha Nyagaya, Country Director, Nutrition International Kenya. “They have made real progress but there is more work to be done. We urge the Government of Makueni County to allocate even more budget to addressing malnutrition, especially to stem the adverse impact of widespread undernutrition due to the drought and the cost-of-living crisis, which threaten the significant gains that the county has made over the last four years.” The Canadian parliamentarians visited sites where nutrition programs are being implemented, including a referral hospital, school and a community site and learned about the maternal, child and adolescent health and nutrition programs. They were also given the chance to observe mother-to-mother and father-to-father support groups, where parents can share their experiences and learn new information, including the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding practices. “As the challenges of malnutrition continue to multiply, it is inspiring to see initiatives on the ground that are working to turn the tide,” said Results Canada Executive Director Chris Dendys. “Local ingenuity and vision, government leadership, support from Canada and Nutrition International, matched with the resilience and power of local communities and families are generating results – and hope.” Governor of Makueni County Mutula Kilonzo Jr. welcomed the delegation and Canada’s history of support. He challenged communities to prioritize child nutrition and encouraged schools to include nutrition in their curriculum “Already our children have been taught about nutrition, especially within the first 1,000 days,” said Mutula. “When Nutrition International leaves Makueni they will have made a lifetime mark on our people in matters of nutrition. In Makueni, we want to see the impact of this program, and hear the real testimonies from mothers and health volunteers across community health units.” The partnership between Makueni County and Nutrition International is based on a catalytic matched funding mechanism for nutrition to accelerate progress towards nutrition targets and delivering impact on broader health, nutrition, and economic development outcomes. Nutrition International investments are structured to leverage additional resources from county budgets and support priority nutrition activities embedded in a five-year county action plan. The county action plan identifies multisectoral nutrition interventions in health, agriculture, education, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), social protection, gender, and community development. [post_title] => Canadian parliamentarians witness impact of health and nutrition programs in Makueni County [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => canadian-parliamentarians-witness-impact-of-health-and-nutrition-programs-in-makueni-county [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:11:20 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:11:20 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=21913 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 21724 [post_author] => 8 [post_date] => 2022-12-02 19:37:54 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-12-02 19:37:54 [post_content] => On the occasion of the “Cross County Learning Forum on Domestic Resource Mobilization for Nutrition and Health in Kenya” organized by Nutrition International: We – the undersigned County Governors – are united in our collective commitment and determination to end malnutrition.

THE CHALLENGE WE ARE FACING

We recognize that good nutrition for all is the foundation for human development. The burden of malnutrition falls most heavily on those most vulnerable, namely women, adolescent girls, and children. We acknowledge that progress in the fight against malnutrition in Kenya has been made which proves to us that progress is possible - it is our belief however, that progress can be and must be faster. In particular, the prevalence of child undernutrition (stunting) remains far too high (26%) and is a barrier to our children reaching their full potential. The number of women dying from preventable causes in childbirth is also unacceptably high (362/100,000 births) – particularly among young mothers. The high percentage of adolescent girls and pregnant women suffering from anaemia (24% in adolescent girls and 41% in pregnant women) is keeping them from learning, working, and living healthy lives. Combined, these and other forms of malnutrition cause Kenya to lose KSH 374B (>USD 3B), the equivalent of 6.9% in GDP, every year according to the 2019 Cost of Hunger in Africa – Kenya study. It is clear to us that investing in nutrition to prevent this damage has impact not only on human capital, but on economic growth as well. We recognize that malnutrition will not end until it becomes a political priority. Political commitment will increase the resources committed and the measurable impact achieved. Particularly when they are directed to a set of prioritized, evidence-based interventions and activities that achieve the highest impact for the lowest cost. We believe that County Governments have an essential role in this because we are responsible for making nutrition policies and strategies into prioritised local plans and for allocating appropriate resources in the most effective ways possible. We note that the availability of food does not necessarily translate into adequate nutrition. Which is why high levels of malnutrition can be found even in counties that are considered food secure. As a result, we acknowledge that food security and nutrition are complementary but not interchangeable. Neither approach should stand alone. Rather, the two must work together to strengthen the health and wellbeing of individuals, counties, and countries. Our intent therefore is to demonstrate our commitment through tangible action to accelerate reductions in malnutrition in our counties – particularly for women, adolescents, and children. Signing this declaration is a symbol of this intent and it is our hope that our collective leadership and accelerated action will generate momentum that serves to inspire other counties as well as countries across Africa.

“We recognize that malnutrition will not end until it becomes a political priority."

— County Governors

THE URGENCY OF ACTION

For too long, malnutrition has imposed a heavy burden on our people, keeping many of our most vulnerable citizens locked in an inter-generational cycle of poverty and missed opportunity. The compounding challenges of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change are space for both donors and governments. We recognize that these challenges necessitate a smarter allocation of resources towards nutrition interventions that deliver the greatest impact at the lowest cost for those who need it most. Recognizing the urgency of the moment we know that making faster progress towards ending malnutrition requires sustained political commitment, dedicated resources, and a focus on evidence-based interventions. We also recognize that failure to invest in nutrition today will result in greater health care costs and lost productivity and opportunity tomorrow – so we view nutrition as among the best long-term investments.

OUR COMMITMENTS

We the undersigned, commit to making meaningful, measurable progress towards ending malnutrition in our counties by:

Elevating nutrition as a top priority and ensuring it is funded for the duration of our terms and beyond.
Putting in place the county-led plans, budgets, policies and legislative action required to address malnutrition and integrate it into all relevant sectors such as education, agriculture, health, gender, WASH, environment, social protection, and economic development.
Working with executives and the county assemblies to increase resources for evidence based and cost-effective high impact nutrition interventions, particularly those targeting women, adolescents, and children.
Improving governance and prudent management of nutrition interventions, including, supporting policy and regulations that ringfence resources for nutrition and entrench the same in budget allocations across all the relevant sectors.
Strengthening our partnership with Nutrition International and fulfilling our commitment to the performance-based match-funding (DRM) program.
Strengthening coordination between external partners working with county governments to ensure the effective use of the resources.
Closely collaborating with the National Government to facilitate the uptake of policies, legislation and plans to support achievement of national, regional and international commitments and obligations.

CALL TO ACTION

We the undersigned, recognize that we can only achieve this ambitious agenda in partnership and thus commit to:

Engaging our peers to mobilize sustained political commitment to fighting malnutrition, including through the Council of Governors so that all the 47 counties have a nutrition agenda.
Calling on development partners to support county efforts to address malnutrition by providing technical, programmatic, and financial support to county-led prioritized nutrition plans.
Calling on civil society to hold county government accountable at all levels for the above commitments and to support county government efforts to reach the most vulnerable in our communities.
Popularizing the nutrition agenda within grassroot communities and other sectors in our counties, through nutrition education and the agency of community health workers to mainstream nutrition at all levels.

SIGNATORIES

His Excellency Stephen Sang, Nandi County His Excellency Dr. Irungu Kang’ata, Murang'a County His Excellency Dr. Paul Nyongesa Otuoma, Busia County His Excellency Joseph Ole Lenku, Kajiado County Her Excellency Cecily Mutitu Mbarire, Embu County His Excellency Mutula Kilonzo Junior, Makueni County His Excellency Wisley Kipyegon Rotich, Elgeyo Marakwet His Excellency Prof. Hillary Barchok, Bomet County His Excellency Dr. Wilber Khasilwa Ottichilo, Vihiga County His Excellency Dr. Paul Kimani Wamatangi, Kiambu County Her Excellency Susan Kihika, Nakuru County Her Excellency Gladys Wanga, Homa Bay County [post_title] => Kenya Governors’ Nutrition Declaration [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => kenya-governors-nutrition-declaration [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:11:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:11:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=21724 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 21710 [post_author] => 58 [post_date] => 2022-12-02 16:26:41 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-12-02 16:26:41 [post_content] => NAIROBI, Kenya – Twelve county governors have committed to accelerating the reduction in malnutrition in their respective counties, particularly for women, children and adolescents. The declaration was signed at a high-level Cross-County Learning Forum on Domestic Mobilization for Nutrition and Health in Kenya organized by Nutrition International. Acknowledging that county investment in nutrition will accelerate economic development and reduce healthcare costs in counties, the governors also committed to strengthening coordination between external partners to ensure the effective use of resources to combat nutrition challenges.

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="image_123" image_url="https://www.nutritionintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/KWA6840.jpg" image_alt="Group of men and women facing the camera" caption="County governors holding the signed declaration at the Cross-County Learning Forum"]

Despite the improvements in child health, the prevalence of child undernutrition (stunting) remains high with over a quarter (26%) of Kenyan children stunted. The 2019 Cost of Hunger Study Kenya report estimated that undernutrition costs Kenya KES. 374B, equivalent to 6.9% in GDP losses annually. Over 24% of adolescent girls and 41% of pregnant women suffer from anaemia, preventing them from learning, working, and living healthy lives.

“This nutrition investment is expected to contribute to reduction in morbidity and mortality, enhance human capital development and ultimately high quality of life.

—Veronica Kirogo, Head Division of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ministry of Health, Kenya

Speaking on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Health during the meeting, Veronica Kirogo, Head Division of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ministry of Health, commended the Governors who have embraced and operationalized the matched funding mechanism to improve the nutrition outcomes. She concluded by saying “This nutrition investment is expected to contribute to reduction in morbidity and mortality, enhance human capital development and ultimately high quality of life. Let us aim at sustaining adequate financing for priority nutrition interventions both at the national and county level in order eliminate all forms of malnutrition by 2030.” The counties’ leadership also pledged to put in place county-led plans and budgets, provide policy and legislative action required to entrench nutrition as a funded and high-priority area, to increase resources for the implementation of evidence-based and cost-effective high-impact nutrition interventions.

“I am convinced we need this kind of example to inspire similar action – not only in other counties – but in other countries in Africa, and in the world

— Joel Spicer, President and CEO, Nutrition International

“I firmly believe that nutrition is a political issue and must be a political priority if we are going to end malnutrition. You are the only cohort I am aware of in the world – of sub-national leaders with the power you have, coming together on nutrition in this way and making it a priority for collective action. I am convinced we need this kind of example to inspire similar action – not only in other counties – but in other countries in Africa, and in the world” said Joel Spicer, Nutrition International President and CEO In 2013, Kenya transitioned to a devolved system of governance, giving considerable budgetary autonomy to the 47 counties in determining how they plan, budget, allocate, and spend funding from national government transfers as well as locally raised revenue. County governments are also responsible for translating national nutrition, health policies, and strategies into county priorities and plans.

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="image_456" image_url="https://www.nutritionintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/KWA6746.jpg" image_alt="Group of people sitting at a table signing a document" caption="County governors and Nutrition International officials sign the declaration at the Cross-County Learning Forum"]

Makueni, Vihiga, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kajiado, Embu, Bomet, Murang’a, Kiambu, Busia and Nakuru are the 11 counties benefitting from this cross-county learning program. Out of the 11 counties, four counties are in the third year of program implementation, while seven counties are in the second fiscal year based on the government calendar year. [post_title] => County governments pledge to end malnutrition in women, children and adolescents [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => county-governments-pledge-to-end-malnutrition-women-children-adolescents [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:11:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:11:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=21710 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 21692 [post_author] => 58 [post_date] => 2022-12-01 15:23:55 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-12-01 15:23:55 [post_content] => NAIROBI, Kenya – Nutrition experts drawn from 11 counties met in Nairobi this week for the Cross-County Learning Forum, an initiative by Nutrition International. The forum provided key stakeholders, county leadership and the national government with the opportunity to jointly reflect on progress, review performance, challenges and achievement of set targets and draw lessons to inform planning of priorities for the following years. The agenda was driven by county governments covering both retrospective and prospective aspects based on results, lessons, most significant changes, contextual changes, and perceived benefits to inform recommendations for course correction. 

[caption class="ni__story-caption ni__story-caption__wide" version="1.5" id="image_123" image_url="https://www.nutritionintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/DAY_2252.jpg" image_alt="Group photo at the Cross-County Learning Forum" caption="Officials from Nutrition International, Ministry of Health Kenya and other organizations attend the Cross-County Learning Forum"]

As the economic status of Kenya moves to a middle-income country, there is an associated reduction in donor funding. The challenging fiscal environment means that prospects for increased resource allocation to nutrition are limited and that domestic resources need to be mobilized for significant achievements in reducing undernutrition. Speaking during the technical meeting, Dr. Bashir Isaak, Head of the Department of Family Health, Ministry of Health, said that partners like Nutrition International are critical for the Government in achieving key the implementation of key nutrition strategies like the Kenya Nutrition Action Plan (KNAP) 2018–2022. This is an evidence-based five-year strategic action plan that seeks to address malnutrition in Kenya in all its forms and for all population groups. He noted that finances pose a great challenge for both the national and county governments in implementing strategic nutrition plans and strategies.

“I am happy to learn that since 2019, Nutrition International in partnership with government ministries and county governments have been developing a novel financing model dedicated to delivering more money and better nutrition outcomes at scale at the county level where service delivery happens.

— Dr. Bashir Isaak, Head of the Department of Family, Health, Ministry of Health, Kenya

“I am happy to learn that since 2019, Nutrition International in partnership with government ministries and county governments have been developing a novel financing model dedicated to delivering more money and better nutrition outcomes at scale at the county level where service delivery happens. The counties represented here today are among the forerunners for this catalytic matched funding mechanism for nutrition to accelerate progress towards delivery of nutrition targets and impact on broader health, nutrition, and economic development outcomes. I take note that the co-funding facility has resulted in prioritization and investment in high-impact nutrition interventions,” said Dr. Bashir Isaak. Martha Nyagaya, Country Director, Nutrition International Kenya, stated that Nutrition International will continue to work in close partnership with the county and national governments in supporting them in making faster progress on nutritional requirements both at the county and national levels. “Nutrition International is a key partner of the Government of Kenya and works closely with the government in its efforts to deliver low-cost, high-impact, nutrition interventions to people in need. Our partnership has included providing technical and financial assistance. While Nutrition International’s direct support for nutrition at the county level is one of the largest, it can only cover a small percentage of required interventions for the entire population,” said Martha Nyagaya. In 2013, Kenya transitioned to the devolved system of governance, giving considerable budgetary autonomy to the 47 counties in determining how they plan, budget, allocate and spend funding from national government transfers as well as locally raised revenue. County governments are also responsible for translating national nutrition and health policies and strategies into county priorities and plans. Since 2019, Nutrition International has been developing the first-ever financing vehicle dedicated to delivering more money and better nutrition outcomes at scale in County or Sub-national levels where services are delivered. We have introduced a catalytic matched funding mechanism for nutrition to accelerate progress towards delivery of nutrition targets and impact on broader health, nutrition, and economic development outcomes in 11 counties.

“Nutrition International is a key partner of the Government of Kenya and works closely with the government in its efforts to deliver low-cost, high-impact, nutrition interventions to people in need.

—Martha Nyagaya, Country Director, Kenya, Nutrition International

Kenya is losing Ksh. 374 billion each year due to malnutrition; 45% of preventable childhood deaths are linked to malnutrition as an underlying cause. Feeding is a major risk factor contributing to increased micronutrient deficiencies, morbidity, and mortality among women and children in Kenya. Makueni, Vihiga, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kajiado, Embu, Bomet, Murang’a, Kiambu, Busia, and Nakuru are among the 11 counties who benefitted from the cross-county learning program. Out of the 11 counties, four counties are in the third year of program implementation, while seven counties are in the second fiscal year based on the government calendar year. [post_title] => County health and nutrition experts in Nairobi share learnings on program implementation, needs and interventions [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => county-health-nutrition-experts-nairobi-share-learnings-program-implementation-needs-interventions [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:11:27 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:11:27 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=21692 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 18675 [post_author] => 8 [post_date] => 2021-12-14 20:00:05 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-12-14 20:00:05 [post_content] => Nutrition International’s Nutrition Technical Assistance Mechanism (NTEAM) recently undertook its third progress assessment of the assignments within its Technical Assistance for Nutrition (TAN) project. A team of external evaluators reviewed the contributions of nine technical assistance (TA) assignments in five countries against eight outcomes: scale, coordination, quality, effectiveness, gender equality, inclusivity, capacity and capability. The report provides recommendations for Nutrition International to build on successes and address the challenges observed. Nutrition International’s responses to these recommendations are listed below. It’s important to note that the progress assessments only review a portion of TA implemented over a specific period of the project, and that Nutrition International’s TA responds to country driven requests for support.

Recommendation: Increase investment in TA that supports subnational level operationalization of multisectoral nutrition strategies and plans. Wherever relevant, future TA should be designed with field level implementation as the goal, seeking to fill capacity gaps at this level in technical oversight and leadership.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and has experienced strong results at the subnational level; for example, in the Philippines, Ethiopia and Kenya. Nutrition International underscores the importance of allocating adequate time for capacity building of different stakeholders and institutions who will advance the objectives envisaged in the TA, will continue to ensure clear parameters are in place to influence improvement in capability both within the leadership of Nutritional International and at country levels, and actively mobilize resources for TA that support subnational TA implementation.

Recommendation: Continue to identify contexts where embedding a nutrition technical professional within the government structure for an extended period can be transformational. TA providers with a mix of technical and political skills can play a key role in building government stakeholder awareness and multisectoral coordination, keeping nutrition high on the agenda for both political and managerial discussions. Ensuring sustainability and government ownership after capability is strengthened is also important.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and has been applying this approach for TA in select countries, such as Ethiopia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. To ensure sustainability and government ownership, Nutrition International acknowledges that clear parameters of growth in client capacity and capability should be evident over time. We will support this by developing TA terms of reference that define TA provider roles that evolves over time. The political commitment of the clients is a major contributor to the success of long term TA and the sustainability of client capacity and capability development.

Recommendation: Leverage TA to advocate for governments to fulfill their commitments for nutrition-related human resources. Insufficiently trained human resources for nutrition was a common barrier to achieving increased capacity across all countries. While TA can help fill vacant technical posts in the short-term, future TA should hold governments accountable for filling nutrition-focused staff positions and invest more resources in training the staff hired to fill the observed capability gaps.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and had applied it in some instances, such as in Bangladesh, where our TA supported a nutrition focused human resource assessment for its Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) and 21 other ministries. This TA also contributed to the appointment of a gender focal point for BNNC. Nutrition International will continue to leverage future TA where appropriate to advocate for governments to fulfil our commitments for nutrition-related human resources.

Recommendation: Support government leaders to prioritize the most effective actions when resources are not sufficient to fund the whole plan. TA that is designed to support sectoral managers to translate complex action plans into shorter work plans that are feasible to fund, implement and monitor in annual program cycles is expected to demonstrate success, deliver ‘more nutrition for the money’, and build greater political buy-in and commitment to sustain funding for nutrition.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and has been implementing it where possible, in collaboration with country leadership and stakeholders. For example, in Kenya TA supported the development of County Nutrition Investment Cases and County Nutrition Action Plans for 12 counties based on the Kenya Nutrition Action Plan, with a goal of mobilizing resources to implement high impact nutrition interventions through a matching funds approach. In Ethiopia, resources have been mobilized with Nutrition International’s support, including from the African Development Bank and other development partners, with an approximate value of USD 48.18 million to support nutrition intervention activities for the Seqota Declaration.

Recommendation: Build on Nutrition International’s success in support for costing of nutrition action plans and increase its focus on supporting government stakeholders to track actual spending on nutrition. Now that more governments have costed nutrition action plans in place, there is a need to ensure the budgets committed are disbursed and spending is tracked.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and has been implementing it in appropriate contexts. For example, in Mozambique Nutrition International’s most recent TA supported the government to develop a financing and budgeting framework, including mobilization of resources, tracking of allocation, and expenditures in nutrition. In Bangladesh TA supported the development of national and subnational nutrition dashboards that track – in real time – expenditures on nutrition across government. Our Kenya country office team continues to support the counties to set up financial disbursement, tracking and accountability systems.

Recommendation: Continue to build the knowledge base on what works to integrate gender equality in nutrition program efforts. Working with TA providers to develop results pathways for gender equality actions and results will help to understand enablers and barriers to achieving this outcome. Nutrition International could also support the development of field-friendly tools that assist TA providers in their efforts to increase stakeholder awareness on the links between gender and nutrition, conduct gender analysis of data, identify context-specific gender-sensitive performance indicators, and engage more women in decision making processes.

Response: Nutrition International agrees with this recommendation and is working on improving this area of our TA provision. We have also developed a number of gender equality and nutrition resources for TA providers, including a guidance document for Integrating Gender Equality into Technical Assistance. In the last year, we invested in understanding and sharing the results and learnings that its TA has on gender equality not only through this year’s progress assessment, but also last year’s progress assessment, and by undertaking one gender test case TA assignment in Bangladesh and a gender assessment of 34 TA assignments in Africa, Asia and to the SUN Movement Secretariat. As a result of these assessments, we will endeavor to ensure the inclusion of at least one specific gender equality objective in future TA and work with TA providers to develop gender equality results pathways outlining enabling factors and barriers to achieving gender equality outcomes. For more information about this year’s external Progress Assessment please read: External Progress Assessment of Technical Assistance Delivered under Nutrition International’s TAN Project [post_title] => Lessons learned inform Nutrition International's technical assistance approach [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => nutrition-internationals-response-to-external-recommendations-for-its-technical-assistance [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:03:46 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:03:46 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=18675 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 18640 [post_author] => 54 [post_date] => 2021-12-13 21:47:21 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-12-13 21:47:21 [post_content] => From setting up community lab incubators in Ethiopia to bolstering food safety regulations in several of Pakistan’s provinces, technical assistance (TA) plays an instrumental role in strengthening systems and mobilizing resources to support country-led implementation of national nutrition plans. From 2015 to 2021, Nutrition International’s Technical Assistance to Nutrition (TAN) project, funded with UK aid from the UK government, and as part of our Nutrition Technical Assistance Mechanism (NTEAM), supported 17 countries – all members of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement – through 68 TA assignments. We conducted these assignments using a collaborative and integrated approach that addressed the specific challenges and opportunities of each project, client and context. Nutrition International’s technical assistance is demand driven. We respond to the country-led asks of national and subnational governments with technical experts who have the relevant experience, know-how and ability to navigate the political economy of each environment. Our technical experts work in partnership with all levels of government, as well as support frontline health workers to strengthen nutrition policy, programming and systems to deliver real-world impact for everyday citizens. Done well, TA creates trust, unlocks funds, catalyzes action and fosters multistakeholder accountability. Below, we share a sampling of nine examples that showcase how we’ve used TA to support national nutrition agendas around the world.

Planning and prioritization

Rigorous planning is key to any project. Strengthening the documented roadmap of where a country wants to take nutrition is essential to bring a plan to fruition. In Tanzania, Nutrition International supported the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre with costing, reviewing and finalizing the Tanzanian National Scale-up Plan for Micronutrients (2016/17 – 2020/21), one of the plans forming the National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (2016/17 – 2020/21), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children. The TA team co-facilitated stakeholder workshops which included capacity building in monitoring and evaluation, as well as workshops with thematic task forces to refine and adopt the plan. Government actors and partners came together in a collaborative approach that supported buy-in and engagement. Furthermore, gender equity considerations were integrated throughout the anaemia and micronutrient guidelines developed with the support of a subsequent TA assignment, creating evidence-based guidelines based on national and global technical advice.

Legislation, regulations and policy

Legislation is a powerful means of enforcing policy and sustains the impact of TA after it ends. But there are many moving pieces to achieving it: from framing to drafting, adoption to enforcement. This was evident in the support provided to the development of provincial food safety standards in Pakistan. A progress assessment on one TA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa found that the TA consulted and engaged with numerous government departments and partners, which led to a notable increase in awareness on the importance of food safety standards and regulations by food processors and marketers, as well as by the public. This led to increased interest and compliance. Inspired by this experience, two similar TA assignments were requested and launched, to support the provincial food departments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Balochistan to develop rules of business. In November 2021, a major milestone was achieved: with continued advocacy from Nutrition International, in conjunction with government partners, the province of Sindh passed mandatory food fortification legislation, with other provinces progressing on passing their own bills into law.

Institutional capacity development

Strengthening internal systems to truly develop capacity is essential to achieve an end goal, whether it be financing a nutrition action plan or helping to develop rules of business. In the Philippines, TA to the National Nutrition Council supported the development and operationalization of the Philippines Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN). This involved strengthening the capacity of key policy planners to prioritize nutrition interventions by providing surveillance information and a landscape analysis. An impact assessment conducted on this TA in February 2019 showed that the PPAN is being implemented and is referred to by partners when making nutrition plans. Building on this work, the national plan was translated into subnational action plans, strengthening the capacity of the regional administrations of 17 prioritized regions and key officials of 32 provincial Local Government Units to develop their subnational action plans. This is one aspect of the impact of Nutrition International’s TA in the country.

Multi-sectoral and intra-government coordination

Effective coordination creates opportunities and reduces the inefficiencies that result from working in silos. In Kenya, the County Nutrition Action Plans are a prime example of subnational coordination to achieve great results. Here, TA supported counties to develop nutrition plans through multi-sectoral collaboration with various government units and businesses, and between the national and subnational governments. This enabled counties to lead the way, promoting local ownership and sustainability, while being strengthened through a support network invested in the same outcomes and goals.

Costing and public financial management

Nutrition International has played a key role in helping countries to determine the best costing approach for their context, fostering accountability and partnership. In Ethiopia, TA supported the delivery of the country’s nutrition action plan to end childhood malnutrition from 2015 to 2030, "The Seqota Declaration”, as well as building capacity for tracking nutrition actions at regional and national levels. As part of this, TA to the Federal Program Delivery Unit and to regional woreda officials strengthened their capacity on nutrition finance analysis, resource tracking, accountability and partnership management, ultimately advancing Ethiopia’s ability to track nutrition actions at all levels.

Resource mobilization

Developing strategies to fuel funding is key to making plans actionable. In Malawi, TA helped to identify and track nutrition spending across relevant line ministries, aligned to the National Multisectoral Nutrition Strategic Plan, 2018-22. These ministries include health, education, science and technology, agriculture, irrigation and water development, industry and trade, local government and rural development, and finance, economic planning and development. The TA facilitated operationalization of a nutrition financial tracking and accountability framework, as well as a domestic resource mobilization strategy for nutrition. This TA is expected to significantly contribute to the capacity of national and subnational governments to track financial resources towards nutrition, and to support advocacy with government and other partners to mobilize dedicated funds for nutrition actions from domestic resources.

Surveillance and data collection

Good data drives quality decision-making. Strengthening the opportunities to capture and analyze data is essential to create programs that are responsive to ground realities. In Senegal, Nutrition International provided TA to assess data from the 2018 national micronutrient survey. This included conducting lab tests and robust data analysis. The findings will provide analysis of the socioeconomic factors of micronutrient deficiencies to inform actionable policy and programming recommendations. This will help with the design of appropriate nutrition programs that can respond in targeted ways to micronutrient deficiencies, particularly amongst women and children.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

Nutrition International always strives to turn learnings into action. Having a robust MEAL framework is integral to understanding a project’s results and harnessing that knowledge to shape future projects. TA in Kenya supported the country’s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) focal point to conduct an in-depth review of the country’s 2012-2017 National Nutrition Action Plan (NNAP). Further TA from Nutrition International supported the Nutrition and Dietetics Unit to incorporate the NNAP’s review recommendations into the costing, financial tracking, monitoring and evaluation, and enabling environment components of the Kenya Nutrition Action Plan for 2018-2022 (KNAP II), which is the current national framework. A progress assessment conducted in 2020 revealed that these components significantly contributed to the improved quality of the KNAP II over the previous NNAP. In particular, the costing framework added significant value and has been used by counties to develop their costed action plans. The assessment albeit noted that improvements could be made to the monitoring and evaluation framework to incorporate gender and to include a more robust review of the enabling environment in future.

Data analysis and translation

It is not enough to simply collect data; we need to analyze and evaluate findings to find and fill gaps that ultimately inform programming. This is a critical area within the nutrition landscape. Over the last 5 years, Nutrition International has worked closely with, and provided TA to, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement to advance understanding of each country’s nutrition information system and how to leverage data to better track and achieve results. This has included exploring nutrition data gaps faced by countries and the challenges in addressing them. The mapping of information systems for nutrition in all SUN countries and the development of four country case studies were early contributions by Nutrition International to nutrition data and evidence generation for informed decision-making by the SUN Movement Secretariat. Nutrition International will continue to provide technical assistance after the close of the TAN project. We are grateful for what was achieved through the TAN project and look forward to building on the partnerships and learnings from the project to work towards a world where everyone has access to the nutrition they need. [post_title] => 9 examples of effective technical assistance for nutrition [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 9-examples-technical-assistance-for-nutrition [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:03:48 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:03:48 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=18640 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 18130 [post_author] => 8 [post_date] => 2021-10-01 19:16:58 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-10-01 19:16:58 [post_content] => The COVID-19 pandemic drew substantial investment into data analytics and visualization in global and public health. Developers stepped up with succinct and informative infographics and dashboards for public consumption, which were also adopted by government and public health institutes to inform decisions in this rapidly changing environment. With the global burden of malnutrition exacerbated by the pandemic, the nutrition community needs to better utilize available data and tools to drive change and build disruption-resilient systems that ensure timely and informed actions. Nutrition International has created novel data collection and analytic tools to further strengthen high-impact, low-cost nutrition interventions targeting those most in need with improved nutrition. Read on to learn what data tools are currently available for the global nutrition community – and what more needs to happen to harness the potential of data for nutrition action. The importance of nutrition data Quality and timely use of data plays a multipurpose role in the nutrition arena. In advocacy, nutrition data helps increase awareness and secure funding for programs and interventions. It guides evidence-informed programs and policies when key decisions are being made. It plays an important role within monitoring and evaluation by helping to assess coverage and quality of program implementation. Additionally, and critically, it helps to keep us accountable by being able to measure and track impact and progress. While availability of data is fundamental, we believe that timely collection, meaningful analyses and informed interpretation and dissemination of data are essential to unlock data’s true potential. The latter is critical to support effective program and policy decision-making amongst government and community partners. In 2020, the Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation (DataDENT) Initiative conducted a landscaping of over 20 data visualization tools in nutrition to examine best practices and lessons. One of the common shortcomings they found was the ability to drive change through actionable indicators using these tools. Fostering an enabling environment through which decision makers are guided towards positive change and impact cannot be overlooked; this is a gap that Nutrition International remains committed to addressing. Leveraging data for nutrition action Across the continuum of action, the integration of data to enable decision-making are supported by Nutritional International through various entry points. Areas of focus related to data for nutrition action are summarized in Figure 1.

Data for nutrition action activities supported by Nutrition International include data collection and surveillance, data analysis, modelling and tools, data visualization, data translation and dissemination.

The Global Technical Services unit at Nutrition International has led and supported the timely analysis and development of tools to effectively use data and guide decision-making – from data collection systems to novel visualization tools. Below are four recent examples:

Data collection and surveillance: Program monitoring and reporting at Nutrition International leverages government systems, such as Health Management Information Systems, along with nationally representative household surveys like demographic and health surveys. The Nutrition International Monitoring System (NIMS) toolkit is a systematic set of tools to prepare, implement, and manage quality control while collecting, analyzing and reporting survey data in a timely and transparent fashion.
Analytical support for subnational governments: Through our Nutrition Technical Assistance Mechanism (NTEAM)’s Technical Assistance for Nutrition (TAN) project, funding with UK aid from the UK Government, Nutrition International supported 11 county governments in Kenya to carry out detailed subnational analyses for the production of county investment cases. Given the shift to decentralized decision-making for investment, the analyses and costed nutrition action plans were critical to driving conversation, decision-making and commitment.
Nutrition impact modelling tools: The Outcome Modelling for Nutrition Impact tool (OMNI) brings different data sources together to assess 17 key nutrition interventions that enable governments and stakeholders to rapidly estimate a program’s impact on nutrition-related health outcomes. The user-driven experience can leverage reported program coverage or estimate future program coverage to quantify projected impact (and provide rationale to scale an intervention from current coverage). The tool served as the evidence base behind Nutrition International’s investment case for 2018 to 2024.
Data visualization and knowledge translation: Nutrition International developed and launched the Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Cost-Effectiveness Tool to support decision makers in conducting cost-effective analysis of incremental benefit and costs of transitioning from iron folic acid (IFA) to MMS in each country’s context. The tool can be readily accessed online. It allows country-level decision makers the ability to conduct a quick assessment within their local context by entering basic assumptions of the program (e.g., population, timespan of program, coverage, cost for IFA and MMS, and an estimated transition cost). Real-time results illustrate the value of investment and its cost-effectiveness. Customized policy briefs are available for 30+ countries. Results of this analytic tool has been presented to a number of governments, including Pakistan and Ethiopia, during COVID-19.

Building resilience and supporting recovery A number of key events are taking place in late 2021 where global leaders are convening to discuss the world’s most pressing issues, from the annual United Nations (UN) General Assembly to the UN Food Systems Summit and the UN World Data Forum. Strengthening the collection of data and monitoring of programs, and driving innovation in data analysis, modeling tools, and visualizations play a key part in evidence-based policy and decision-making across these events. COVID-19's immediate and potentially lasting nutrition impacts amongst the most vulnerable populations globally have raised a red flag to the nutrition community on a long-standing issue: the lack of high-quality, readily available nutrition data that is responsive to a rapidly changing environment, deployed through timely analyses, and leading evidence-based decision-making. Currently, the most comprehensive estimates regarding the pandemic’s impact on nutrition are typically based on projections using nutrition modelling tools often lacking timely data insights from frontline realities. Nutrition International recognizes the need to bolster the capacity of the decision makers we support to deploy data-driven and evidence-based decisions in a timelier manner. Responsive, reliable, and quality data must be put at the centre of nutrition policy and program decisions. Our approach to data for decision-making will also adopt the use of more advanced digital technologies in the collection, analysis and translation of data to ensure resilient and efficient data ecosystems. In the fight against malnutrition, this need could not be greater – and this action is essential to best help those we exist to serve. [post_title] => Leveraging data for action in nutrition [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => leveraging-data-for-action-in-nutrition [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-05-02 14:04:02 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-05-02 18:04:02 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nutritionintl.org/?post_type=news&p=18130 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => news [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 10 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 24904 [post_author] => 58 [post_date] => 2024-07-02 08:52:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-07-02 12:52:00 [post_content] => Elgeyo Marakwet County, KENYA — In a significant move towards achieving gender equality and improving the health and nutrition of adolescent girls across the country, the Realizing Gender Equality, Attitudinal Change and Transformative Systems in Nutrition (REACTS-IN) project was officially launched in Kenya on May 29^th, 2024. The initiative, led by World Vision in collaboration with partners including Nutrition International, Harvest Plus and McGill University, targets 109,000 adolescents with weekly iron and folic acid supplementation (WIFAS) and gender-sensitive nutrition education.

“Through integrated, multisecotr interventions that address the key determinants of nutrition and gender equality, [REACTS-IN] aims to reclaim the nutrition gains lost in recent years.

—Martha Nyagaya, Country Director for Kenya, Nutrition International

Refine Your Search

Showing 21 to 30 of 53 results

News

July 2, 2024

A new era of health: REACTS-IN transforms adolescent nutrition in Kenya

The REACTS-IN project in Kenya targets the delivery of equitable, gender-responsive health services, including comprehensive nutrition education for adolescents.

Field Stories

December 18, 2023

Ten must see global nutrition stories from 2023

Dive into some of Nutrition International’s milestone moments and success stories of 2023 as we work toward our mission of building a world where everyone, everywhere is free from malnutrition.

Blog Posts

February 7, 2023

Five areas for action on vitamin A supplementation for child survival in 2023

Africa's VAS programs are at a crossroads. We break down how we'll be supporting action on vitamin A this year to help countries improve their coverage rates.

News

January 17, 2023

Canadian parliamentarians witness impact of health and nutrition programs in Makueni County

Four Canadian members of parliament visited sites where Nutrition International is helping to improve the health and nutrition of people in Makueni County.

News

December 2, 2022

Kenya Governors’ Nutrition Declaration

The governors of 12 Kenyan counties signed a declaration to reinforce their united commitment and determination to end malnutrition during a Learning Forum organized by Nutrition International.

News

December 2, 2022

County governments pledge to end malnutrition in women, children and adolescents

Declaration signed to reinforce political commitments and increase resources for nutrition.

News

December 1, 2022

County health and nutrition experts in Nairobi share learnings on program implementation, needs and interventions

Forum supported county governments in taking progressively greater ownership of the financing and delivery of multisectoral nutrition interventions, thereby contributing to their sustainability.

Blog Posts

December 14, 2021

Lessons learned inform Nutrition International's technical assistance approach

We regularly undertake technical assistance external progress assessments to gauge opportunities and challenges. Here are the recommendations from the latest assessment and how we are addressing them.

Field Stories

December 13, 2021

9 examples of effective technical assistance for nutrition

Technical assistance (TA) is proving to be a force for change, supporting countries around the world to improve their performance on nutrition.

Blog Posts

October 1, 2021

Leveraging data for action in nutrition

COVID-19 highlighted the critical and urgent need for timely and reliable data to drive decision-making. The nutrition community needs to harness this learning.

Refine Your Search

THE CHALLENGE WE ARE FACING

THE URGENCY OF ACTION

OUR COMMITMENTS

CALL TO ACTION

SIGNATORIES

Planning and prioritization

Legislation, regulations and policy

Institutional capacity development

Multi-sectoral and intra-government coordination

Costing and public financial management

Resource mobilization

Surveillance and data collection

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

Data analysis and translation

Search Results

Refine Your Search

Showing 21 to 30 of 53 results