Political economy challenges in nutrition

Abstract

BackgroundHistorically, implementing nutrition policy has confronted persistent obstacles, with many of these obstacles arising from political economy sources. While there has been increased global policy attention to improving nutrition in recent years, the difficulty of translating this policy momentum into results remains.DiscussionWe present key political economy themes emanating from the political economy of nutrition literature. Together, these interrelated themes create a complex web of obstacles to moving nutrition policy forward. From these themes, we frame six political economy challenges facing the implementation of nutrition policy today. Building awareness of the broader political and economic issues that shape nutrition actions and adopting a more systematic approach to political economy analysis may help to mitigate these challenges.ConclusionImproving nutrition will require managing the political economy challenges that persist in the nutrition field at global, national and subnational levels. We argue that a “mindshift” is required to build greater awareness of the broader political economy factors shaping the global nutrition landscape; and to embed systematic political economy analysis into the work of stakeholders navigating this field. This mindshift may help to improve the political feasibility of efforts to reform nutrition policy and implementation—and ensure that historical legacies do not continue to shape the future.

The role of evidence in nutrition policy‐making in Ethiopia: Institutional structures and issue framing

“…However, such challenges are not unique to Ethiopia. Several authors have described the challenges posed by, among others, different stakeholder narratives of nutrition globally (Balarajan & Reich, 2016;Baker et al, 2018). Relatedly, Baker et al (2018) have reviewed globally the drivers of political commitment for nutrition.…”

“…Nutrition policy involves collaboration between, at a minimum, agriculture, health and environment sectors (Gillespie et al., ; Mendis, ; Bonita et al., ; Reinhardt & Fanzo, ). However, the multi‐sectoral nature of nutrition policy‐making adds considerable complexity to the implementation of effective programmes (Balarajan & Reich, ), highlighting the need for better understanding of the linkages between sectors to improve nutritional outcomes. Several countries have achieved considerable success in addressing malnutrition in recent years (WHO, ).…”

Towards concerted government efforts? Assessing nutrition policy integration in Uganda

“…The nutrition literature proposes a plethora of malnutrition-related, institutional, and socio-political factors that may impel or impede nutrition policy integration (e.g. Gillespie and van den Bold 2017; Balarajan and Reich 2016;Nisbett et al 2014b;Rukundo et al 2014;Drimie and Ruysenaar 2010). However, the precise causal pathways or mechanisms through which these factors affect nutrition integration patterns remain underexplored.…”

Global Nutrition Report: Towards a Global Governance in Nutrition

“…Balarajan and Reich (: 5) identified six political economy challenges in global governance in nutrition: leadership challenge (due to the lack of an institutional home for nutrition), coordination challenge, accountability challenge, framing challenge, hierarchy challenge and demonstrating effectiveness challenge. The intention of the N4G summit and the subsequent follow‐up efforts, including the publication of the Reports, is to resolve some, if not all, of these issues.…”