ments rose by 30 percent. Nutrition-sensitive donor com- mitments declined by 14 percent, but nutrition- sensitive disbursements for the 10 donors that reported data increased by 19 percent. The percentage of official development assistance disbursed to nutrition in 2012 was just above 1 percent. Donor reporting on nutrition is becoming more harmonized but has further to go owing to differences in definitions and timing.
11.POLICIES, LAWS, AND INSTITUTIONS ARE IMPORTANT FOR SCALING UP NUTRITION. These elements of the policy envi- ronment can be measured. The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) process score approach is noteworthy for being a partic- ipatory measurement process that stimulates reflection among stakeholders on how they can strengthen coordi- nated action on nutrition. Assessments of the strength of policies, laws, and institutions can point out disconnects, such as the coexistence of weak policy environments on di- abetes and populations with rates of raised blood glucose levels.
Monitoring the Nutrition for Growth Commitments
12.REPORTING ON THE 2013 NUTRITION FOR GROWTH (N4G) COMMITMENTS WAS CHALLENGING FOR ALL GROUPS OF SIGNATORIES. Valuable lessons were learned in this “base- line year.” Ninety percent of the signatories responded to requests for updates against their N4G commitments. Very few signatories were off course on their commitments, although there were many “not clear” assessments due to the vagueness of commitments made and of responses provided. In terms of progress against N4G targets, there were no obvious causes for concern from any group, at least at this early stage in the reporting period of 2013– 2020. The assessment will be strengthened in 2015 by more data, more streamlined processes, and, we suspect, participants that are more motivated given their under- standing of how their responses will be reported.
13.NUTRITION ACCOUNTABILITY CAN AND MUST BE BUILT. Civil society actors are particularly important in building accountability, although they need support to be most effective. National evaluation platforms and community feedback mechanisms are promising ways of strengthening nutrition accountability, but they need to be piloted and evaluated. National and international nutrition research programs that are driven by the problems of countries themselves are likely to improve accountability at the national level.
Reducing Data Gaps
14.THERE ARE MANY GAPS IN DATA ON NUTRITION OUTCOMES, PROGRAMS, AND RESOURCES. For example, for the four of six WHA indicators where rules exist to classify countries as “on course” or “off course,” only 60 percent of the 193 UN member countries have the data to assess whether their contribution levels are on or off course to meet the
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global WHA targets. Ensuring all countries can report on the WHA indicators is a priority for governments and UN agencies. To identify data gaps beyond the WHA indica- tors, we posed the question: In what areas are data gaps leading us to fail to prioritize the issues that need to be prioritized and the actions that need to be taken to reduce malnutrition? We identified three nutrition-status indica- tors—anemia, overweight/obesity, and low birth weight— where progress is slow and data gaps could be holding back action. We also identified data gaps that we believe are holding back the scaling up and context-specific blend- ing of nutrition-specific, nutrition-sensitive, and enabling environment interventions. These gaps included data on countries’ capacity to implement and scale up nutrition actions, program costs, and financial resource tracking. Many decisions about how to prioritize the filling of data gaps need to be undertaken at the national level, based on nutrition policies, plans, and strategies.
15.NOT ALL DATA GAPS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED BY COLLECT- ING NEW DATA.We identified several ways of filling data gaps: (1) using existing data better, (2) strengthening exist- ing data collection quality, (3) improving data comparability across countries, (4) collecting new data where there are not enough for good accountability, and (5) increasing the frequency of national nutrition survey data collection. Three to four key data gaps were identified under each of these five areas, and ways to begin filling these gaps were proposed. Many of these data gaps can be filled by invest- ing in the capacity of nutrition analysts, program manag- ers, and policy units to make better use of existing data.
WE CAN IMPROVE NUTRITION MORE RAPIDLY: STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY
Almost all countries suffer from high levels of malnutrition. Countries should make a common cause and exploit opportu- nities to learn from each other. It is clear that the low-income countries do not have a monopoly on malnutrition problems and that the high-income countries do not have a monopoly on nutrition solutions.
Failure to intensify action and find solutions will cast a long
shadow, bequeathing a painful legacy to the next generation. Our generation has the opportunity—and the ability—to banish those shadows. To do so, we must act strategically, effectively, in alliances, and at scale. And we need to be held to account.
The annual series of Global Nutrition Reports—their data, analyses, examples, messages, and recommendations—rep- resents one contribution to meeting this collective 21st-century challenge.
GLOBAL NUTRITION REPORT 2014
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