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Background: Maternal and child undernutrition has been a major problem in Ethiopia for decades. The Ethiopian government has been making efforts towards addressing this severe problem by putting the appropriate programs and strategies in place. The current nutrition programs and strategies have been evolving from a one sector focused to that of a multi sectoral coordination model. Consequently, the recently revised National Nutrition Program (NNP 2013 - 2015) takes into account the multi-sectoral and multidimensional nature of nutrition in addition to other important revisions.
Objective: To explore the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of the multi sectoral
coordination mechanism of the revised National Nutrition Program of Ethiopia (NNP 2013- 2015).
Methods: A qualitative case study based on key informant interviews was conducted on
purposefully selected sample of 12 study participants who are members of the National Nutrition Technical Committee (NNTC) or giving direct support in the implementation of the NNP from key sectors institutions and organizations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The data collected through the interviews was transcribed and translated and then coded and categorized using Open Code 4.2 software. The data was then analyzed using themes that emerged from the raw data. The study period was from October 2014 – April 2015.
Results: Findings revealed several key gaps and challenges in the actual operationalization of the multi-sectoral coordination mechanism such as: lack of leadership for nutrition at the highest level,
weak institutional capacity and human resources, lack of an implementation guideline and lack of legal framework to empower and recognize the multi-sectoral coordination entity, weakened accountability structures and monitoring and evaluation practice.
Conclusion: Even though, the current nutrition policy landscape has come a long way from the past, and major improvements have been observed, the study found that there are important gaps to be addressed in the current multi-sectoral coordination mechanism of the revised NNP. The major gaps identified are; varying levels of national ownership and stakeholder engagement, limitations in human resources, lack of involvement of highest-level government leadership, weak accountability and reporting structures, no existing legal frameworks and unclear sustainability roadmap in terms of budget allocation.
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