Maximizing nutrition outcomes within food systems

The Mainstreaming Nutrition within Food Systems publication series represents the culmination of country-based stakeholder consultations conducted by World Vision in 2020. In partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and in collaboration with Action Against Hunger, this process builds upon the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program initiative begun in 2011.

We used a food systems approach during a multi-month country-level consultation process to reflect the complementary roles played by different actors at all stages of the food chain – from production and processing to retail and consumption of food. In addition to defining practical steps for governments to effectively engage with key food systems actors for transformational, sustainable change, the partners prioritized actions that benefit the most vulnerable communities to ensure that their food security and dietary needs are met.

Through the consultative process, we:

• Identified, prioritized, and mapped entry points for transformative actions across the food systems

• Optimized the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs to accelerate progress in promoting healthy diets as a major contributor to address malnutrition

• Identified key evidence gaps in policy and programmatic areas to inform a future operational research agenda

• Meaningfully integrated emerging evidence and thinking on levers for change vis-a-vis gender and social inclusion – along with COVID-19, which will remain a major driver of food outcomes over the next few years.

This publication series is for primary use by national policymakers and program implementers.  Each guidance note seeks to define key policy and program priorities for mainstreaming nutrition within key food subsectors (fisheries, forestry, crops, livestock) across select sub-Saharan African contexts. World Vision’s country partners included Ghana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Uganda. For more information on this series, contact Serena Stepanovic, Associate Vice President, Food Security and Livelihoods sector.