PANEL 8.2 HOW CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS BUILD COMMITMENT TO NUTRITION
CLAIRE BLANCHARD I
n Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) countries and non-SUN countries, civil society has played a
key role in building and maintaining commit- ment for nutrition. Why are civil society orga- nizations (CSOs) so important for achieving nutrition goals, and how can they sustain their effectiveness? First, there is scale. More than 1,500 CSOs are engaged in the SUN Movement, and there are coordinated civil society alliances (CSAs) in 30 countries. Second, CSOs are good at engaging in social mobilization and awareness-raising efforts in collaboration with the media and through Global Days of Action (SUN 2014b). The recent June 2014 National Nutrition Day in Madagascar provided an opportunity for the civil society alliance to meet with the prime minister, who committed to holding a meeting with all ministers on increased
investment in nutrition and engagement of sectors. Third, CSOs can aggregate efforts. Coor- dinated alignment of goals identified through internal mapping and scoping exercises con- ducted by, for example, the Ghana Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Scaling Up Nutrition, the Civil Society Alliance for Nutri- tion-Nepal, and the Partnership for Nutri- tion in Tanzania helps influence government action. Through position papers, public mobi- lization, participation in strategic meetings, and constructive support to government goals, CSAs can influence policy, as Kenya’s SUN CSA did recently in influencing changes to Kenya’s health policy. Fourth, CSOs can transcend political
cycles. In Ghana, CSO work with parliamen- tarians helps prioritize nutrition regardless of the party in power. In 2014, inspired by Peru’s
example, Malawi’s Civil Society Organization Nutrition Alliance (CSONA) obtained signed commitments for nutrition improvements from presidential candidates, ensuring that nutri- tion remains a priority. Fifth, with so many countries decentral- izing health and nutrition policy, civil society is well placed to energize and even shape subnational efforts. For example, civil society alliances have actively started building on dis- trict- and region-level efforts by, for example, setting up district-level CSAs, as has occurred in Malawi and Mozambique. Challenges remain, however. CSOs need to be supported in their efforts to build their capacity to deliver programs in partnership with other stakeholders, to influence policy, to demonstrate results, and to hold governments, others, and themselves accountable.
TABLE 8.7 DONOR PROGRESS IN MEETING N4G NONFINANCIAL COMMITMENTS Donors
Australia
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Brazil
Canada
Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Save the Children Children’s Investment Fund Foundation European Union Finland France
Germany Ireland Japan
Netherlands United Kingdom
UK Food Standards Agency United States
United Arab Emirates World Bank
Policy/program On course
On course On course None
On course On course None None
On course None
On course Not clear None
On course On course On course None
On course
Source: Authors. Note: On course = progress made is on course for meeting the N4G commitment. Off course = not enough progress has been made toward the N4G commitment. None = no nonfinancial N4G commitment was made. Not clear = the commitment was too vague to assess whether the commitment was met, or the reported evidence on progress was too vague or only partially reported. No response = donor did not respond to requests for progress.
62
GLOBAL NUTRITION REPORT 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118