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Review
. 2015 Jul 15;6(4):440-51.
doi: 10.3945/an.115.008276. Print 2015 Jul.

Scaling up impact on nutrition: what will it take?

Stuart Gillespie  1 , Purnima Menon  2 , Andrew L Kennedy  3
Affiliations
Review

Scaling up impact on nutrition: what will it take?

Stuart Gillespie et al. Adv Nutr. .

Abstract

Despite consensus on actions to improve nutrition globally, less is known about how to operationalize the right mix of actions-nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive-equitably, at scale, in different contexts. This review draws on a large scaling-up literature search and 4 case studies of large-scale nutrition programs with proven impact to synthesize critical elements for impact at scale. Nine elements emerged as central: 1) having a clear vision or goal for impact; 2) intervention characteristics; 3) an enabling organizational context for scaling up; 4) establishing drivers such as catalysts, champions, systemwide ownership, and incentives; 5) choosing contextually relevant strategies and pathways for scaling up, 6) building operational and strategic capacities; 7) ensuring adequacy, stability, and flexibility of financing; 8) ensuring adequate governance structures and systems; and 9) embedding mechanisms for monitoring, learning, and accountability. Translating current political commitment to large-scale impact on nutrition will require robust attention to these elements.

Keywords: capacity; enabling environment; evidence; financing; governance; impact; implementation; scaling up; strategy; undernutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author disclosures: S Gillespie, P Menon, and AL Kennedy, no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Theory of change for scaling up impact on nutrition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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