Key Messages
• A 2024 preliminary assessment of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (2016-2025) found that about a third of its targets are roughly on track but that the policy needs to be updated to achieve its potential, and to take advantage of the opportunities provided through food systems transformation. • Since the Policy would be due for full review in 2025, there is ample opportunity to evolve it to the current context and thinking.
• Some key areas a new national food and nutrition policy must expand on include: legislative frameworks, more relevant conceptual frameworks, resilience, engagement with the education sector, expanded partnerships, private sector responsibilities, wins for climate and nutrition, shifting demand away from unhealthier to healthier foods, food safety, rethinking trade policy, promoting innovation and technology, and being more responsive to the needs of women.
The SUN Business Network (SBN), co-convened by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Global
Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), operates within the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement’s multisectoral
framework to address malnutrition, through private sector engagement.
To address the triple burden on Mozambican’s Food system, GAIN in Mozambique is focused on innovative, scalable, and impactful initiatives aimed at identifying, updating, and disseminating legislation; developing businesses that produce and distribute safe and nutritious food; and implementing approaches to increase the demand and consumption of healthier diets by all Mozambicans
KEY MESSAGES Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread globally; recent studies revealed that 1 in 2 children and 2 in 3 women are deficient in at least one micronutrient
Fortifying staple foods with micronutrients is a costeffective and safe intervention that is proven to prevent micronutrient deficiencies and related outcomes
While food fortification programmes are widely implemented around the world, gaps remain. The availability and coverage of high-quality fortified foods are often low, even in countries with fortification mandates, and many countries that could benefit from fortification programmes do not have them.
Countries need support to implement best practices around appropriate programme design, effective monitoring of quality and compliance, and regular review of programme assumptions to ensure they remain safe and impactful over time.
National governments, industry, technical partners, and donors all have diverse roles to play in strengthening food fortification programmes and enhancing impact.
Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of economic development in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Their role is particularly important since they are estimated to make up the vast majority of food system businesses and play a critical role in achieving food security and supporting nutrition, as well as providing employment. To function optimally, business-support programmes and interventions are often developed based on the assumption that institutional constraints impede MSMEs from maximising their potential. Support services can be broadly grouped into financial assistance (e.g., grants, loans) and technical assistance (e.g., business development services, training, networking).
As part of the Nourishing Food Pathways (NFP) programme, GAIN is working to strengthen efforts to understand and measure progress on food system transformation. Clear progress measures can provide decision-makers with the visibility and the flexibility to course-correct as needed to realise the desired impact, and can help to ensure accountability for action. To this end, one of the workstreams under NFP aims to develop, test, and validate novel methods and metrics for assessing food systems transformation. To ensure that this work is grounded in local food system stakeholders’ needs and preferences, GAIN worked with Food Systems Foresight to solicit input from national stakeholders across five African countries (Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya) on priority indicator gaps for monitoring food systems transformation. This paper reports on the outcomes of that work.
The PSWG fosters an open dialogue between public and private sector actors on selected priority areas in addressing all forms of malnutrition. It recognizes that many of the root causes of malnutrition cannot be solved without the involvement of those who grow, produce, and market food. These commitments, while important, are part of a larger goal to catalyse sustained private sector action, complementing efforts by other N4G stakeholders.
This report presents objective findings on the current levels of nutrition integration in international instruments and guidelines, and national legislations, regulations and procedures. Nutrition is only integrated in a few examples. Many laws, instruments and codes were developed before worker malnutrition was as prominent an issue and before newer scientific evidence emerged linking worker performance to improved nutrition. This new context, married with the evidence in this report, highlights the enormous opportunity presented to future labour standard setting for employees and employers.
Political economy dynamics—that is, conflicts and trade-offs across different interest groups that play an important role in the food system—permeate many decisions about food systems policy and implementation. Development practitioners working in the food systems space—inclusive of agriculture, nutrition, and environment—need to be aware of these dynamics to be able to support policy advocacy, development, and implementation.
To assist in anticipating policy bottlenecks to food systems transformation, a toolkit was developed to examine six main domains within national policy systems. The six domains are: policy stability and inclusionary decision-making, stakeholder preferences, multi-sectoral coordination, multi-level coordination, financing, and administrative capacities.
DELIVER Nigeria is a transformative three-year project (July 2024 - June 2027) designed to enhance the livelihoods of smallholder vegetable farmers in Kaduna and Kano states. This initiative, led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT) and Wageningen University and Research (WUR), addresses key challenges such as low yields, limited market access, high postharvest losses, and inadequate finance.
