Advocacy, Social Mobilization and Communication

Journal of Creative Communications, 2014

With co-existence of under-nutrition and obesity among its people, malnutrition afflicts India like a double-edged sword. The search for solutions has often pointed at 'Nutrition Communication' as a tool in alleviating malnutrition. This study, through three case studies in India, attempts to critically examine how various organizations engaged in nutrition communication perceive, develop and implement communicative processes. These case studies typically combined data collection methods like information gathering and interviews. We realize nutrition communication programmes are topdown, expert-driven and are often denied planning, evaluation or budgets. We argue that factors such as the organization's knowledge of the nutrition problem(s), perceptions of the key communicators, their motivation levels and personal biases also affect the design and implementation of nutrition communication programmes.

Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2011

Health Policy and Planning, 2011

Undernutrition is the single largest contributor to the global burden of disease and can be addressed through a number of highly efficacious interventions. Undernutrition generally has not received commensurate attention in policy agendas at global and national levels, however, and implementing these efficacious interventions at a national scale has proven difficult. This paper reports on the findings from studies in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru and Vietnam which sought to identify the challenges in the policy process and ways to overcome them, notably with respect to commitment, agenda setting, policy formulation and implementation. Data were collected through participant observation, documents and interviews. Data collection, analysis and synthesis were guided by published conceptual frameworks for understanding malnutrition, commitment, agenda setting and implementation capacities. The experiences in these countries provide several insights for future efforts: (a) high-level political attention to nutrition can be generated in a number of ways, but the generation of political commitment and system commitment requires sustained efforts from policy entrepreneurs and champions; (b) mid-level actors from ministries and external partners had great difficulty translating political windows of opportunity for nutrition into concrete operational plans, due to capacity constraints, differing professional views of undernutrition and disagreements over interventions, ownership, roles and responsibilities; and (c) the pace and quality of implementation was severely constrained in most cases by weaknesses in human and organizational capacities from national to frontline levels. These findings deepen our understanding of the factors that can influence commitment, agenda setting, policy formulation and implementation. They also confirm and extend upon the growing recognition that the heavy investment to identify efficacious nutrition interventions is unlikely to reduce the burden of undernutrition unless or until these systemic capacity constraints are addressed, with an emphasis initially on strategic and management capacities.

Maternal & child nutrition, 2013

Advocacy represents an intervention into complex, dynamic and highly contextual socio-political systems, in which strategies and tactics must be adjusted on a continual basis in light of rapidly changing conditions, reactions from actors and feedback. For this reason, the practice of advocacy is often considered more art than science. However, capacities and practices for advocacy can be strengthened by sharing and analysing experiences in varying contexts, deriving general principles and learning to adapt these principles to new contexts. Nutrition is a particular context for advocacy, but to date, there has been little systematic analysis of experiences. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and draw lessons from the practice of nutrition advocacy, especially in relation to stunting and complementary feeding, and suggest ways to strengthen capacities and practices in the future. The strategies and tactics, achievements and lessons learnt are described for three case studies: ...

The Lancet, 2008

80% of the world's undernourished children live in just 20 countries. Intensified nutrition action in these countries can lead to achievement of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and greatly increase the chances of achieving goals for child and maternal mortality (MDGs 4 and 5). Despite isolated successes in specific countries or for interventions--eg, iodised salt and vitamin A supplementation--most countries with high rates of undernutrition are failing to reach undernourished mothers and children with effective interventions supported by appropriate policies. This paper reports on an assessment of actions addressing undernutrition in the countries with the highest burden of undernutrition, drawing on systematic reviews and best-practice reports. Seven key challenges for addressing undernutrition at national level are defined and reported on: getting nutrition on the list of priorities, and keeping it there; doing the right things; not doing the wrong things; acting at scale; reaching those in need; data-based decisionmaking; and building strategic and operational capacity. Interventions with proven effectiveness that are selected by countries should be rapidly implemented at scale. The period from pregnancy to 24 months of age is a crucial window of opportunity for reducing undernutrition and its adverse effects. Programme efforts, as well as monitoring and assessment, should focus on this segment of the continuum of care. Nutrition resources should not be used to support actions unlikely to be effective in the context of country or local realities. Nutrition resources should not be used to support actions that have not been proven to have a direct effect on undernutrition, such as stand-alone growth monitoring or school feeding programmes. In addition to health and nutrition interventions, economic and social policies addressing poverty, trade, and agriculture that have been associated with rapid improvements in nutritional status should be implemented. There is a reservoir of important experience and expertise in individual countries about how to build commitment, develop and monitor nutrition programmes, move toward acting at scale, reform or phase-out ineffective programmes, and other challenges. This resource needs to be formalised, shared, and used as the basis for setting priorities in problem-solving research for nutrition.

Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2011

Undernutrition is the single largest contributor to the burden of disease in developing countries and has documented effects on social and economic development, yet progress in reducing undernutrition remains slow. This paper identifies the range of factors that have influenced the nutrition agenda in developing countries, in order to inform the implementation of three major global initiatives related to undernutrition. Data sources include interviews with nutrition practitioners at the national and international level, written accounts from six African countries, and observations of the policy process in five countries. Data were thematically coded to identify recurrent factors that facilitated or inhibited progress in addressing undernutrition. The data reveal the following: First, societal conditions and catalytic events pose a variety of challenges and opportunities to enlarge and shape the nutrition agenda. Some countries have been successful in using such opportunities, while others have been less successful and there have been some unintended consequences. Second, disagreements over interventions and strategies are an almost universal feature of the nutrition policy process, occur primarily among mid-level actors rather than among politicians or senior administrators, and are primarily the product of structural factors such as organizational mandates, interests, and differences in professional perspectives. Third, many of these structural factors can be molded, aligned, and/or circumvented through strategic action on the part of the mid-level actors to strengthen movement on the nutrition agenda. This evidence that strategic action can redirect and/or overcome the effects of structural factors has important implications for future efforts to advance the nutrition agenda.

2021

in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI's strategic research aims to foster a climate-resilient and sustainable food supply; promote healthy diets and nutrition for all; build inclusive and efficient markets, trade systems, and food industries; transform agricultural and rural economies; and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is integrated in all the Institute's work. Partnerships, communications, capacity strengthening, and data and knowledge management are essential components to translate IFPRI's research from action to impact. The Institute's regional and country programs play a critical role in responding to demand for food policy research and in delivering holistic support for country-led development. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world.

2019

We would also like to extend our thanks to the Development Corner Consulting (DCOR) team led by Satyanarayan Mohanty who led the quantitative and qualitative data collection in Odisha, contributed to the qualitative data analysis, and produced field reports: all of which informed the content of this report. We are particularly grateful to Satya and to Gopal Krushna Bhoi for their warmth and hospitality in the field. We are equally grateful to the Society for Promoting Education and Rural Development (SPREAD) programme team, particularly to Bidyut Mohanty, Rajkishor Mishra, Jitendra Rath, and Vipul Kumar for their input and support towards the evaluation alongside implementation of the programme. We would also like to thank APPI for funding the evaluation and for their continued valuable input, support, and guidance throughout the process. In particular, we are grateful to

2017

What this article adds: In 2013, Action Against Hunger began a three-year programme to build advocacy capacity of CSAs within the West African region and facilitate sharing of advocacy knowledge and experiences. Local civil society actors from 12 countries created a Nutrition Champions Network. Events included three regional workshops themed on advocacy training and lesson learning (2013), budget advocacy and training (2015), and policy analysis, influence and monitoring (2017). Multi-sector advocacy and integration of nutrition objectives into other relevant sectors were cross-cutting themes. Synergies were identified with international initiatives. In 2017 a common regional advocacy workplan for the SUN CSAs in West Africa was agreed, to be delivered in 2017/18. Best practice and country experiences were shared through the Nutrition Champions Network, aided by exchange visits between countries. Challenges include accessing nutrition budget data, monitoring political commitments an...