COMCEC
Malnutrition in the OIC Member
Countries: A Trap for Poverty
complementary feeding; the existence of a national nutrition plan (soon to become a multi­
sectorial strategy); a multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder coordination mechanism (the CLM,
“Cellule de Lutte contre la Malnutrition”); time-bound nutrition targets and national
nutritional surveys. Areas of weaknesses are the poor access to sanitation, a moderate access
to drinking water and the weak extent of nutrition in national development strategy. Indeed,
the latest national development strategic plan, the “Plan Senegal Emergent”, released in 2015,
does feature nutrition as part of the human capital pillar, but does not dwell long on the topic
and does not recognise the specific catalyst role that tacking under-nutrition can have in
fostering development.
Another indicator of the commitment to fight malnutrition is the share of expenditures a
country spends on healthcare. This share is 4.7% in Senegal (in 2014), which places Senegal in
the bottom quarter of the world distribution. Worryingly, this share has continually decreased
since 2004 when it reached 5.7%.
Interviewed stakeholders echoed the feeling that political commitment in Senegal is
satisfactory and has increased over the years. This is reflected by the status the fight against
malnutrition has taken: from a simple policy, it evolved to a full-fledged plan with wider remit
(“The Plan de Renforcement de la Nutrition (PRN]”), and will now become a multi-sectoral,
inclusive strategy to which all sectors related to nutrition (i.e. not only health or agriculture)
contribute to. The creation of a coordinating agency (CLM) under the authority of the Prime
minister, as early as 2 0 0 1 , was also hailed as a very good sign.
Areas of fragility and rooms for improvements exist, however. Most stakeholders recognised
that the CLMdid not fully succeed in its coordinating role, partly because it also operates as an
implementing agency (it manages the PRN) and because of the dilution of the coordinating role
between the CLM, the MNSCA (the agency in charge of food security, also under the authority
of the Prime minister) and even the social protection agency (the DGPS), which is to take a
more significant role in the fight against malnutrition. The lack of discernible progress on the
fight against acute malnutrition also reveals structural failings in the current strategy, with
possible neglect of the role of knowledge and practices, and lack of progress on the health
provision front.
Stakeholders mentioned that inadequate breastfeeding contributes to intergenerational
transmission of malnutrition. Malnourished adolescent girls are not able to exclusively
breastfeed their child as the quantity of milk they produce is insufficient. Indeed, only 33% of
mothers exclusively breastfeed their baby until the age of 6 months, well below the WHO
target of 50%. Worryingly, there has even been a decline since 2011 when the proportion was
39% (UNICEF 2015). The results from the previous section did not confirm the link between
breastfeeding practices and malnutrition, however.
Anaemia and nutrients deficiencies did not benefit from a coordinated strategy and remained
at critical high levels. Finally, with decentralisation of health and nutrition activities, the role of
local governments is determinant. Stakeholders who work extensively with local governments
noted that these often lack the capacities and knowledge to coordinate nutrition activities.
Interventions to promote nutrition towards local policymakers are currently underway and
needed to sustain the fight against malnutrition.
The issue of stunting has also until recently been in the shadow of policymaking in Senegal as
prevalence appeared acceptable and the focus was firmly on the issue of acute malnutrition,
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