Malnutrition in the OIC Member
Countries: A Trap for Poverty
COMCEC
results show an overall intergenerational transmission of undernutrition that is very high in all
5 contexts. The proportion of low birth weights is highest in Bangladesh (22%) and Senegal
(19%) and quite lower in the remaining 3 countries (where the proportion is between 10 and
13%).
All countries felt the need to put in place a coordination mechanism to address malnutrition.
This is consistent with the SUN's recommendations based on the multi-sectoral nature of
malnutrition. However, in all countries concerns and doubts were raised about the
effectiveness of coordination. Even when many years have passed since the policy change, as in
Senegal, the problems seem to persist. Progresses have been made, however, to mainstream
nutrition within all sectors and to design comprehensive policy plans.
Commitment of central governments have been rising, and is now considered acceptable or
good in all countries. Such commitment has often taken time, however, to materialize in acts.
Mounting global awareness of nutrition (bolstered by e.g. the publication of the Global
Nutrition Report' scorecards for each country], global movements such as the SUN, and
regional policies have all contributed to place nutrition higher up in the agenda of ministries.
Such commitment is however often mostly found in the health ministry, and more rarely in the
agriculture (or even finance) ministries. Whereas the HANCI index considers commitment to
be moderately satisfactory in Senegal, Indonesia and Bangladesh, when one looks at health
spending as a fraction of GDP, the picture becomes much less positive.
The implementation of nutrition plans and policies remains a challenge. It is especially the case
in decentralised settings as local governments may lack the commitment, knowledge and
capacity of central governments and agencies. Although initiatives exist to address this
problem, it is rarely the focus of official plans. The dual challenge of managing horizontal
coordination (across actors) and vertical coordination (across levels of government) is
daunting and contribute to a wide gap between ambitious goals and actual results. It also leads
to disparities in implementation of nutrition policies and nutritional outcomes.
In the poorest countries of the sample (Senegal, Bangladesh) as well as in Indonesia, the
double- burden of malnutrition is insufficiently integrated within nutrition policy and efforts.
Although overweight and obesity feature in government documents, the relevant policies and
targets are often overlooked by nutrition practitioners (who tend to focus on the pressing
issue of under-nutrition) and it is difficult to integrate actors that are concerned by over­
nutrition but not under-nutrition (such as the Ministry of Sports).
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