SUN Civil Society Network

Civil Society efforts in support of decentralised sub-national nutrition efforts - existing models, overview and some country examples

Existing models

Models the SUN CSN secretariat has encountered to date include:

• Setting up regional civil society alliances with formal structures and governance connected with the national alliance (e.g. Mali, Niger)

 

• Having a strong CSO member in a region / district leading on coordination and harmonization of actions at district level – a more informal model that can assist manage potentially busy arena with various existing platforms working in nutrition related issues. The CSO member then plays a facilitating role to gather various actors around the table and agree on key priorities to take forward with leads identified amongst participating CSOs, social movements and networks / platforms. (e.g. Zambia)

 

• Consensus-building forums (e.g. in Peru these forums are focusing on addressing poverty with nutrition objectives) that gather all of civil society (CSOs, networks, social movements, women groups, trade unions, farmers,…) and government officials towards achieving key objectives. These forums exist at national, regional and local levels. The forums advocate and lobby for electoral candidates to sign a governance agreement, that are then ratified when the candidate is elected and the forum supports the candidates in prioritising nutrition interventions according to the local needs, holding officials to account on the delivery on an annual basis and following up on how to ensure progress happens if the commitments have not been delivered upon. The Cameroon CSA is also considering a similar model of citizen forums.

 

We are certain more models and examples exist so please share with us.

 

Overview of civil society approaches to supporting subnational nutrition efforts

• No information available for 8 country civil society efforts - Benin, Burkina Faso, DRC, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe

 

• 2 country CSAs are adopting a combination of sub-national CSA and CSO members coordination subnational efforts – Uganda and Malawi

 

• 9 country civil society efforts are adopting a model of CSO members coordinating subnational level efforts – Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guinea, Myanmar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia

 

• 7 country Civil Society Alliances (CSAs) are adopting a sub-national CSAs model – Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka

 

• Civil Society efforts in 2 country are adopting a citizen forum model – Cameroon and Peru

 

• 3 country CSAs are in the process of thinking through decentralization – Madagascar, Kenya, Pakistan

 

• 4 country civil society efforts are at a stage of CSA establishment where it is too early to envisage decentralisation model – Burundi, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Togo

 

This is the information available to the SUN CSN secretariat for 35 countries.

 

Some country examples

Bangladesh

 

The majority of new memberships in 2014 are local NGOs which work in a number of areas across the country, further reflecting the success of the Alliance as recognition of a multi-sectorial platform and catalyzing interest in nutrition at grassroots level.

 

Guatemala

 

Coordination efforts with CSOs has strengthened and provided dialogue, participation, analysis and discussions spaces on the actions of the government in relation to chronic malnutrition and the 1000 days window which in turns is strengthening advocacy efforts at national and subnational levels.

 

Kenya

• Mapping CSOs - CSOs mapping at county level with mapping reports from 28 out of 47 counties compiled and submitted to the CSA secretariat to date. This exercise needs to foster working with the County Nutrition Coordinators for identification of nutrition partners at the county level in the remaining 19 Counties. This will help in identification of nutrition partners at grassroots level for collaboration and coordination.

• Capacity strengthening of CSA members - CSA members’ capacity built to drive nutrition advocacy initiatives and policy influence at national and county levels with the SUN CSA conducting a total of seven trainings and workshops, two national and five county nutrition advocacy trainings in 2014. The trainings were aimed at strengthening civil societies to engage with County Governments and multi-stakeholders in scaling up nutrition.

• Leveraging of resources - The CSA also successfully mobilized resources from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a US-based organization implementing advocacy programmes in some African countries, mainly on Informing Decision-Makers to Act (IDEA), Communicating Research Results to Policy Makers and Re-energizing Nutrition Worldwide (RENEW), to support county level efforts.

 

Malawi

 

To date CSONA has managed to establish district nutrition platforms in 7 districts by using already existing structures within the districts.

 

Mali

 

Mali CSA was officially launched on February 21, 2014 and conducted a number of activities towards coordinated Civil Society Alliances in SUN countries with included:

• A mapping of nutrition stakeholders – a list of all nutrition specific stakeholders was available in December 2014 as a result of a survey building on existing lists and registering additional civil society actors. Data is currently being analysed and will be synthesised into a guide that will be disseminated.

• Capacity strengthening of CSOs in the Bamako, Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou regions on the political norms and procedures in nutrition

• Establishment of regional Civil Society Alliances in Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou and development of action plans of these regional alliances - http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/nutrition-mission-in-mali-helps-define-new-civil-society-advocacy-plans#.VP2lY1JyZQs

 

Setting up civil society alliances for nutrition in three regions in Mali (Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou) – 16 to 30 September 2014

 

Model – Regional alliances in three regions: Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou

 

From 16 to 30 September 2014, OMAES and its specialist project implementation partners (ASDAP and HKI) carried out a support and monitoring exercise for activities in the regions of Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou.

 

This included:

• Reviewing how the activities were progressing (setting up the regional alliance, organising advocacy activities) at regional level,

• Adapting the SUN alliance’s guiding principles and setting up regional alliances of the SUN movement (nutrition coalition)

• Developing an advocacy plan to strengthen nutrition at regional level

 

The methodology adopted was the same in the three regions and included

• Two working sessions with the focal point and CSO representatives making up the core of the alliance, set up following the orientation workshops on PNP (Politique, Normes et Procédures (PNP) de nutrition - Policies, Norms and Procedures in Nutrition (PNP)) which consequently became the pilot committee:

  • a pre-workshop session for meeting Governors, Regional Health Directors and nutrition focal points; review activities carried out and prepare the workshop (adapting the alliance’s guiding principles, drafting an advocacy plan, agenda, and raising awareness of responsibilities);

  • another session after the workshop to debrief and finalise the texts;

• A one-day workshop to

  • adopt the guiding principles and set up the regional alliance

  • develop a regional advocacy plan to strengthen nutrition

 

The conclusions of this exercise are as follows:

• The guiding principles were altered very little during adaption at regional level. The elements that changed were:

  • The number of pilot committee members – five in Sikasso, nine in Ségou and ten in Kayes;

  • The number of partner organisations went from three to four in Sikasso including CR-NGO

  • The mandate of the president of the pilot committee is two years and can be renewed once in Sikasso and an unlimited number of times in Kayes and Ségou.

• Action plans for all the Alliances contain similar points:

  • Advocacy capacity building;

  • Visibility of the Alliance;

  • Advocacy with the authorities and other leaders on the following themes:

    • Strengthening nutrition and including it in PDSECs (Plan de Développement Economique, Social et Culturel – Economic, social and cultural development plans) and the sector’s programmes

    • Key nutrition activities and, in particular, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, women’s diet etc.

    • The right to food;

 

The regional Alliances need to be supported and encouraged so they can deliver the plans that have been developed. Funding of activities is another challenge to overcome as soon as possible so that the regional SUN alliances can be fully operational.

 

 

Mozambique

 

In 2014 the Civil Society platform in Mozambique expanded its membership with other CS networks, as the CSP for social protection and MASC (a support mechanism for CS for good governance) joining the platform. This strategic expansion has enabled some organizations members of the provincial CSP sign contracts for a mapping exercise of existing civil groups at all district of the 3 provinces, aiming to establish civil society nutrition groups.

 

Members of all 3 provincial civil society networks were trained on “Nutrition basic concepts, Political framework for nutrition and Advocacy – with focus on fundraising and lobbying”.

 

Myanmar

 

In 2014, the CSA established regional linkages with regional SUN partners through participating in: 1) the Alive&Thrive-hosted ASEAN regional workshop (Developing Roadmaps for IYCF Policies in Selected Countries in ASEAN Region and Beyond) held in Bangkok; 2) SUN CSA participates in and contributes to the “Regional Civil Society Dialogue to Improve Food Security, Agriculture and Rural Development Policies in South East Asia.

 

Nepal

 

Civil Society Alliance on Nutrition in Nepal (CSANN) was established formally on March 26, 2014 for 2 years in a democratic way , with an executive committee that meets regularly and a full time coordinator on board, which has extended its chapters in 3 districts (Saptari, Kapilvastu and Achham) in Nepal. The alliance includes organizations implementing community level nutrition and related interventions on different sectors such as nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, livelihood, education, urban development and local development. The district alliances are bringing the nutrition issues from the community to the national level.

 

Niger

 

Building on the foundations set out in 2013, Collectif Tous Unis en faveur de la Nutrition (TUN) Niger, has led and coordinated a decentralization process to the regions. Relay structures were identified in 6 regions, trained on SUN and nutrition efforts in the country and essential advocacy and participated in TUN efforts to communicate back to the regions. In addition, in 3 regions (Maradi, Zinder and Diffa), formal sub-national regional hubs were established in a participatory manner enabling the definition of an advocacy framework and coordination of nutrition civil society activities in these regions - http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/civil-society-in-niger-establishes-3-new-branches-for-effective-nutrition-action#.VP2lZVJyZQs

 

Training on nutrition advocacy and setting up TUN regional hubs in Maradi, Zinder and Diffa -24 November to 5 December 2014

 

Model – Regional hubs in three regions: Maradi, Zinder et Diffa

 

From 24 November to 5 December 2014 in Maradi, Zinder and Diffa, Tous Unis en faveur de la Nutrition (TUN) organised a workshop for nutrition advocacy training and setting up TUN regional hubs. In every region, the event brought together more than a dozen CSOs working in the field of nutrition, specialised services for managing malnutrition (DRSP, Initiative 3N) and administrative and local authorities. The objective of this training series was to build capacity among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to advocate for strengthening nutrition in the regions of Maradi, Zinder and Diffa. Organised in partnership with the NGO Save the Children which funded the workshops in Maradi and Zinder, these events made it possible to lay the groundwork for nutrition advocacy and the coordination of civil society nutrition activities.

 

Two (2) teams were formed to organise these training sessions. The first for the regions of Maradi and Diffa and the second for the Zinder region. In each of these regions, one preparation day and two workshop days were organised.

 

The workshops raised awareness among local CSOs of SUN’s work in the country and trained participants in the field of nutrition advocacy. They also made it possible to set up regional hubs through an election process and develop TUN regional advocacy action plans that include objectives such as increasing funding for nutrition in national and local budgets, improving the coordination of CSO nutrition activities, community development plans that include nutrition, etc.

 

Thus, from now on, Niger has – a central platform for Tous Unis en faveur de la Nutrition (TUN) and three regional hubs – Zinder TUN, Maradi TUN and Diffa TUN.

 

Peru

 

The decentralisation process to tackle manlutrition and anemia

 

Peru is a democratic State with a unitary and decentralized government. Decentralization is one of the main reforms of the Peruvian State. It started in 2002, and the process is led by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

 

Progress made follows:

• National Government has transferred responsibilities -mainly legal and administrative- to regional governments, and it has progressed towards transferring social programs and services to local governments.

• National and sub-national authorities are committed with increasing coverage of effective interventions and have jointly defined targets and actions to protect early child nutrition and development.

• Inter-governmental coordination -a key process of decentralized management when implementing the national policy to fight malnutrition- underpins and guides ministry policies, coordination instances and management tools.

• Public resources are geared towards effective interventions to obtain results through the Coordinated Nutritional Program and the Newborn Health Program. Likewise, the national government has supplied budgetary incentives for regional and local governments that improve their public service management and their performance regarding achievement of social results.

 

The decentralization process challenges relate to the continuity of national policies to fight child malnourishment in the case of sub-national governments that have been recently elected for the 2015-2018 period, and to public budget decentralization, because the national Government concentrated 70% of the entire budget in 2014.

 

Civil society representation and contribution to national and sub-national efforts in Peru

 

The Consensus-building forum for Poverty Reduction (MCLCP) with broad participation of representatives from multiple institutions and civil society in all regions of the country, made possible the signing of Governance agreements (GA) for development of the regions. The GA, previously discussed with political parties and movements, are signed under the process of regional and local elections. The concerted GA define goals to improve the quality of life, formulated from the perspective of integral and holistic human development, and consider four dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional.

 

The MCLCP convenes the concerted follow-up to collect and analyze the processes and interventions developed by the public administration and the tools used by various organizations of civil society, in order to fully understand the factors that influence the rights and needs of the population, and the effectiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of public interventions. From this effort, proposals and recommendations for optimal implementation of public policies and interventions are raised.

 

More information on Peru can also be found here  ENGLISH | FRANÇAIS | ESPAÑOL and at the following links:

• http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/thirteen-candidates-sign-a-governance-agreement-for-the-city-of-lima#.VO9VqdJ0wdk

• http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/strengthening-the-capacity-of-sun-countries-through-learning-routes#.VO9V29J0wdk

• http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/strengthening-the-capacity-of-sun-countries-with-a-learning-route-in-peru#.VO9V3tJ0wdk

• http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/learning-from-the-challenges-that-peru-faces-against-malnutrition#.VO9V39J0wdk

 

Sierra Leone

 

Following the merger of the SUN CSO platform with GAVI CSO platform into a united, coordinated civil society platform - the Health and Nutrition Sierra Leone Civil Society Platform HaNSL-CSP, the focus has been on establishing District Coordinating Bodies (DCBs) in all districts.  To date, the CSA has been successful in establishing 10 DCBs in the country and aims to have functional DCBs in place, nationwide by the end of 2015. In the wake of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone 2014, the National body supported respective DCBs in the implementation of rapid assessments of quarantine homes to identify and follow up children in need of treatment for malnutrition and those that have missed routine immunization contributing to efforts to rebuild community trust in local health facilities.

 

Sri Lanka

 

The SUN Civil Society Forum (SUN PF) registered as ‘Scaling Up Nutrition People’s Forum’ (Guarantee) Limited is well coordinated in its activities. SUN council meeting is held every month and all matters with regard to nutrition are discussed. Activities are divided amongst the members. Lead role of formulating advocacy plan for 1st 1000 days, communication for nutrition and food security and economy was given to Child Fund, Nutrition Society and Arthacharya Foundadtion respectively. Following the registration process, 276 CSOs representing 11 districts became members of the SUN PF. In addition, SUN PF provided opportunities to staffs of member organizations to increase knowledge on monitoring of nutrition interventions.

 

Uganda

 

A functional CSO platform with nutrition advocacy capacity - The alliance in Uganda grew stronger in terms of being a credible voice for nutrition advocacy. The establishment of nutrition information sharing platforms in the Soroti, Lango and Acholi, Central and Rwenzori sub-regions contributed to the effectiveness of the coalition advocacy efforts. A constituency with capacity to demand for the scale up of nutrition activities at the grassroots by 2014 - UCCO-SUN through the consultancy of the Kabarole Research and Resource centre (KRC) is undertaking the final stage in the base line survey to identify the advocacy capacities of the member organisations. The survey will support membership capacity building in Nutrition advocacy.

 

Zimbabwe

 

The alliance has managed to build the network from 7 members (as of July 2013) to over 100 members in December 2014. These include media, national and international NGOs, community based organizations, academia and professional bodies. 

 

Sub-national structures (Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, and Gweru) have been created and focal point organizations identified in the four regions to effectively coordinate CSOs and ensure that they are re-aligning their work and actions towards promoting nutrition.

The alliance should strengthen regional structures to ensure effective and efficient coordination at sub-national levels. ZCSOSUNA needs to fundraise for coordination funds at sub-national levels as the current budget does not cater for such processes.