Strengthening Multisectoral Coordination for Improved Nutrition Outcomes in Kenya
Background: Kenya continues to face a persistent malnutrition crisis despite progress in select health and nutrition indicators. The nation bears a triple burden of malnutrition ,undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition—accompanied by rising diet-related noncommunicable diseases (GAIN, 2025; Ministry of Health, 2025). The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey(KDHS) report (2022), indicates that 18% of children under five are stunted, 5% are wasted, and 10% are underweight, reflecting sustained undernutrition even as overweight and obesity increase among adults (KDHS, 2022; Ministry of Health, 2025). These patterns highlight underlying structural weaknesses in Kenya’s food and nutrition systems (GAIN, 2025).
Key Challenges: Nutrition challenges are intensified by: food insecurity and climate shocks (droughts, floods) that affect food access, limited dietary diversity and inequitable access to nutritious foods, especially in Arid and semi Arid counties, economic constraints and weak health systems, which reduce access to quality nutrition services, gaps in social protection coverage, limiting support for vulnerable households, fragmented coordination, poor data sharing, and limited collaboration across sectors despite the multisectoral design of Kenya Nutrition Action Plan (KNAP) 2023–2027 (GAIN, 2025; Ministry of Health, 2025).These barriers constrain the national goal of delivering equitable and sustainable nutrition outcomes for all Kenyans.
Why Policy Coordination Matters:Effective multisectoral coordination is essential because nutrition outcomes are shaped by food systems, health services, social protection mechanisms, education, agriculture, and community engagement. Without strong coordination, resources are duplicated or underutilized, data-driven planning is weakened, community needs are not reflected in national policies and Promising interventions fail to scale up. Strengthening coordination is, therefore, crucial to realizing the full potential of KNAP 2023–2027 and reducing nutritional inequities.
Call to Action: Kenya has policy guidelines, skilled human resource and strong institutions necessary to transform nutrition outcomes. By strengthening policy coordination across sectors, levels of government and development partners, the country can accelerate progress toward a healthier, more resilient population. This calls for a collective commitment to acting together.
Discussion Guide
1. How can the Government of Kenya (GoK) and stakeholders in the nutrition and social-protection sectors learn from successful multisectoral coordination models in other African countries and globally to strengthen implementation of 2023–2027, government nutrition policy ?
2. How can national and county governments adopt regional and international good practices to improve data sharing, digital systems, and joint planning for coordinated nutrition action?
3. How can Kenya, drawing on funding models used across Africa and globally, work with development partners to reduce duplication and promote harmonized investment in nutrition?
4. How can the Government of Kenya and civil-society organizations integrate lessons from community-driven nutrition initiatives both globally and locally to ensure community voices and frontline workers influence coordinated policies?
5. How can Kenya build stronger accountability systems by adapting monitoring and evaluation approaches used in other African countries and global examples of effective multisectoral nutrition governance?
Dear Team, thank you for hosting this dialogue. By increasing political commitment, the Government of Kenya and stakeholders can take important lessons from other African nations to improve the implementation of The Kenya Nutrition Action Plan (KNAP) 2023–2027. High-level political commitment is essential for prioritizing nutrition and mobilizing resources across sectors, as the example of Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration. Kenya should thus make sure that expressed political commitment is maintained outside of political cycles and translated into concrete institutional actions.
Key Insights from my Experience in West Africa
Drawing from over a decade coordinating multisectoral programs across 12 West African countries, several lessons emerge that are highly relevant to Kenya’s KNAP 2023-2027.
1. Integrating Climate and Nutrition Governance
Experience in Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal showed that climate adaptation programs rarely consider nutrition, despite the direct impact of climate shocks on food security. Women, who manage the bulk of agricultural labor while ensuring household nutrition, often face barriers to accessing climate and nutrition services. Effective interventions require integrated planning, linking climate early warning, agricultural extension, and health services, rather than operating in silos. For Kenya, this means ASAL counties need coordination mechanisms that simultaneously address food insecurity, climate adaptation, and nutrition service delivery.
2. Community-Centered Digital Data Systems
In Senegal, linking youth employment, agricultural productivity, and financial inclusion data highlighted the value of simplicity and community involvement. Mobile-based tools like KoBoToolbox, paired with quarterly data validation sessions, ensured data reflected local realities, with gender-disaggregated metrics revealing women’s access and decision, making power. For KNAP, county-level nutrition dashboards should provide real-time, accessible information to health workers, social protection officers, and agricultural extension agents.
3. Harmonized Funding Through Joint Frameworks
Coordination of EU and government partners under Senegal’s Tekki Fi program demonstrated that a shared results framework reduces reporting burdens, prevents duplication, and enables pooled funding for common infrastructure. In Kenya, development partners could adopt KNAP’s outcome indicators as a common framework, conducting quarterly county-level reviews to reallocate resources based on performance.
4. Frontline Workers as Multisectoral Hubs
Programs in Senegal’s Fatick region showed that community health volunteers (CHVs) can effectively link agriculture, nutrition, and social protection services. By acting as local coordinators, CHVs supported women facing food insecurity, resulting in improved dietary diversity and stronger community trust. Kenya could similarly expand CHVs’ roles, equipping them with training and compensation to act as multisectoral coordinators.
5. Accountability Through Gender-Responsive M&E
West African initiatives highlighted the importance of not just counting participants, but tracking women’s influence in decision-making and service quality. Quotas, gender-disaggregated outcomes, and community scorecards improved accountability. KNAP should similarly monitor women’s representation and influence in county nutrition coordination committees, ensuring meaningful participation.
Three Immediate Actions for Kenya :
1) Pilot integrated coordination platforms in 3 ASAL counties linking climate, food security, and nutrition services.
2) Establish county-level nutrition data hubs using mobile-first systems with community validation.
3) Invest in frontline workers as multisectoral coordinators with cross-training in nutrition, human rights, social protection, and climate adaptation.
Fatou Cheikh Dieng
I want to take the opportunity to participate in the dialogue. I had experience to work with city level Multi-Sectoral Platform and now I am working for establishing Union Level Multi-Stakeholder Platform In Bangladesh.
Dear Md. Mahbubul, this sounds like incredibly relevant experience! It would be very good if you could share some additional insights about the process you are taking to establish this union-level platform. What approach did you take? What barriers did you face? Any lessons learned that could be relevant for this Dialogue? Thank you for sharing your views!
Dear Md. Mahbudul, Feel free to share your experience from Bangladesh. Looking forward to learn from your experience.
Dear Team Thank you so much for the invitation for this Dialogue. Here in Ethiopia with the CASCADE-Ethiopia project we have an initiative and established regional level Food system and nutrition council which increase the engagement of multisectoral-coordination to improve all forms of malnutrition in the region.
Dear Ezkezia, this sounds like a very exciting and relevant initiative! Can you share any additional insights about the Food System and Nutrition Council, like how it was established, how it is governed, how it set its agenda, and what kinds of stakeholders are involved? This would provide a very clear roadmap.
Dear Eskezia,
This is interesting. Kindly share more information about the Food system and nutrition council.
REFLECTIONS FROM PAKISTAN ON STRENGTHENING MULTISECTORAL COORDINATION FOR NUTRITION IMPACT
The past ten years have shown Pakistan that successful nutrition programs achieve their goals through system-wide cooperation between different sectors instead of using multiple sector-specific programs.
1. Learning from Multisectoral Coordination Models
Pakistan demonstrates that multisectoral coordination achieves better results when central planning and development institutions handle its operations instead of using health and nutrition ministries for implementation. The planning ministries assume responsibility for coordinating nutrition objectives with agricultural and food system and climate change and educational and social protection projects. Key example here is the Pakistan Multisectoral Nutrition Strategy (2018-25).
The research shows that effective coordination mechanisms require organizations to establish links between their activities and three different incentive systems which include public investment approvals and budget processes and results frameworks. The shift enables organizations to implement mandatory institutional procedures instead of relying on voluntary cooperation.
2. Improving Data Sharing, Digital Systems, and Joint Planning
The Pakistani government shows how shared digital platforms which government entities own can unite different types of information and policy actions and stakeholder involvement. The Pakistan National Food Systems Transformation Digital Platform (using Pakistan Sub-National Food Systems Dashboard ) has helped consolidate fragmented information and create a common evidence base for joint planning across sectors and levels of government.
Pakistan has developed new institutional systems at both its national and provincial government levels. The Punjab Food Authority under govt of the Punjab approved the establishment of a Healthy Diet Resource Centre which includes food safety and social protection and nutrition outcomes and stakeholder capacity building and intersectoral coordination development. The national digital systems need to operate together with provincial digital hubs for effective results.
3. Harmonizing Investments and Reducing Duplication
The Pakistani experience demonstrates that development partners achieve better harmony when they base their operations on government frameworks instead of implementing independent projects. The shared technical assistance and joint policy diagnostics and coordinated investment dialogues have helped organizations in the nutrition and agriculture and climate and social protection sectors eliminate duplicate activities.
The effectiveness of downstream programs increases when organizations invest their resources into developing policy coherence systems and establishing institutional capacity through upstream investments.
4. Integrating Community Voices, Academia, and Frontline Experience
Pakistan has expanded its approach to community engagement by establishing formal partnerships between communities and academic institutions for food systems and nutrition governance. The newly designed Food Systems Transformation courses which universities developed through their collaboration with national higher education authorities enable students to combine policy and research and practical applications.
The most effective community initiatives occur when local residents and operational staff and academic research work together to influence national and subnational development instead of waiting for separate consultations.
5. Strengthening Accountability in a Climate-Vulnerable Context
Pakistan shows that climate vulnerability needs to be integrated into all aspects of multisectoral nutrition programs which operate in high-risk environments. Pakistan ranks among the most climate-exposed countries worldwide. The 2022 floods which affected more than 33 million people led to economic losses above USD 30 billion while disrupting food systems and lifestyle patterns and health services and nutrition results. The public systems have continued to face challenges from ongoing extreme weather events and flooding which have occurred during the last two years.
Pakistan has started to use the climate–nutrition connection as a focal point for its policy dialogue and accountability systems. The implementation of nutrition and climate commitments across subnational levels can be tracked through three tools which include policy coherence diagnostics and gender-responsive analysis and shared indicators.
Dear Faiz,
Thank you for the elaborate experience sharing. This is very helpful information.
From my experience supporting nutrition, food systems, and social-protection coordination in Indonesia, I have found that multisectoral coordination is most effective when it is treated as a delivery mechanism rather than simply a platform for dialogue. Several lessons from Indonesia’s experience may be relevant for strengthening the implementation of Kenya’s 2023–2027 nutrition policy.
First, multisectoral coordination needs an empowered institutional anchor.
In Indonesia, coordination works best when led by a body with a clear mandate to translate policy into joint workplans, align budgets, and resolve trade-offs across sectors. Effective models rely on a shared delivery framework: one theory of change, one annual joint plan, and a small set of jointly owned indicators. Technical working groups focused on priority burdens, such as anemia or food insecurity, help operationalize coordination, especially when leadership is shared across ministries, reinforcing joint accountability.
Second, data sharing and digital systems should be decision-driven and incremental.
A key lesson from Indonesia is to start with a minimal set of interoperable indicators, rather than aiming for complete system integration from the outset. Many coordination challenges stem from inconsistent definitions and reporting cycles. Alignment improves when data systems are explicitly linked to planning and budgeting moments, through regular joint data reviews that inform course correction. A small data stewardship function has proven helpful in maintaining data quality, standard definitions, and access rules across sectors.
Third, harmonizing investment is as essential as mobilizing resources.
Indonesia’s experience shows that duplication can be reduced by maintaining a transparent map of nutrition and social-protection investments, detailing what is funded, where, and through which mechanisms. Even when pooled financing is not feasible, alignment around shared results frameworks, synchronized reporting, and agreed geographic priorities significantly lowers transaction costs. Development partners can play a catalytic role by supporting the scale-up of proven interventions rather than introducing parallel pilots.
Fourth, community perspectives must be institutionalized within coordination systems.
Frontline workers and communities consistently provide the most actionable insights on access barriers, affordability, and behavior change. In Indonesia, coordination is stronger when these voices are integrated through structured feedback loops, such as community scorecards and frontline consultations, linked directly to technical working groups and policy reviews. Significantly, community participation must be resourced to be meaningful and sustained.
Finally, accountability systems should prioritize learning and adaptation.
Effective multisectoral governance in Indonesia has depended on shifting from activity reporting to performance management. This includes tracking a limited number of outcome and coverage indicators, assigning clear ownership for joint deliverables, and holding routine joint reviews that lead to decisions. Public transparency and adaptive monitoring help ensure coordination, support implementation quality, and real nutrition outcomes.
These lessons suggest that Kenya can strengthen multisectoral nutrition implementation by focusing on empowered coordination, data-driven decision-making, harmonized investments, institutionalized community voice, and accountability mechanisms that enable continuous learning and course correction.
Dear Aang,
Thank you for the insightful lessons from Indonesia and your recommendations for Kenya.
Robust digital forums require not just technology but strong governance structures, shared accountability between counties and national government and continuous capacity strengthening. Governments can establish clear protocols for data access and use ensuring partner supported digital tools align with national systems. To sustain gains, there is need to anchor coordination in policy and financing frameworks.
Dear Moses,
Thank you for this insight. Sustainability is very key. Kindly elaborate further on anchoring coordination in policy with financing frameworks
To strengthen the 2023–2027 Kenya Nutrition Action Plan (KNAP), the Government of Kenya (GoK) and its partners can pivot from a purely health-centric approach to a “systems-based” model. Global and regional successes—most notably from Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement—offer a blueprint for breaking down sectoral silos.
1. High-Level Political Anchoring
A recurring lesson from successful countries is that nutrition must be housed in a “neutral” and powerful office rather than just the Ministry of Health.
* The Tanzania Model: Coordination is led by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). This gives the nutrition agenda the authority to convene diverse ministries like Agriculture, Water, and Education on equal footing.
* Kenya’s Path: Leveraging Executive Order No. 2 of 2023 to elevate nutrition beyond a health issue into a national development priority, potentially using the Presidency or the Office of the Prime Minister to oversee inter-ministerial accountability.
2. Financial Integration and “Nutrition-Smart” Budgeting
Sustainable implementation fails when nutrition is an “unfunded mandate” in non-health sectors.
* The Ethiopia “Seqota Declaration” Lesson: Ethiopia implemented a Resource Mobilization Plan that targets multi-sectoral financial management. They moved toward “nutrition-smart” investments where infrastructure projects (like roads or irrigation) are designed specifically to improve food access.
* The “Nutrition Compact” (Tanzania): They established a financial compact between the central government and local councils, ensuring a minimum allocation (e.g., TZS 1,000) per child.
* Kenya’s Path: Kenya can adopt Nutrition Costing Frameworks at the county level (CNAPs) that require non-health departments (Agriculture, WASH, Social Protection) to have dedicated budget lines for nutrition-sensitive activities.
3. Data-Driven Accountability (The “Convergence” Strategy)
Multi-sectoral action only works if all sectors are looking at the same map.
* Geographic Convergence: Countries like Burkina Faso and Mali identified “districts of convergence” where all sectors (WASH, Health, Education) synchronized their interventions in the same households simultaneously.
* Unified Data Repositories: Using tools like the National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPFN)—which Kenya is already developing—to track not just health outcomes, but also sectoral performance (e.g., did the Ministry of Water actually reach the same stunted communities?).
4. Strengthening Social Protection Links
The 2023–2027 policy places a heavy emphasis on social protection.
* The Gambia’s Success: They linked social cash transfers directly to nutrition education and health screenings.
* Kenya’s Path: Integrating the Inua Jamii program with nutrition “top-ups” or conditionalities. For instance, beneficiaries could receive additional support for attending nutrition counseling or ensuring children receive vitamin A supplementation.
Dear Lucy,
Thank you for this elaborate and useful feedback. What would be this “neutral and powerful office” that you are alluding to? Would this office strengthen coordination and how would this be done? Feel free to give a recommendation on this
I love the intentionality of this move, because to be honest this discussion is very much needed. Now to dive right in , these are my thoughts and inputs in this open dialogue ;
1) Knowledge sharing among select countries that have successfully managed to implement the models that work. Benchmarking engagements to be strengthened in the efforts to learn the multisectoral coordination strategies that has worked. Excellent examples are our neighbours Ethiopia and Rwanda, Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration exemplifies high-level political commitment, uniting six ministries (health, agriculture, education, social affairs, water, and women/youth) under the National Nutrition Coordinating Body (NNCB) for nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions, achieving stunting reductions through phased implementation and accountability structures like Program Delivery Units (PDUs).(https://share.google/E5DSs10lywChGSOV4).
Rwanda’s District Plans to Eliminate Malnutrition (DPEMs) succeeded via sub-national coordination, monthly district steering committees involving health workers and partners, and capacity building for community health workers on maternal/infant nutrition.(https://share.google/VS8VCC2DtkcEo8pia)
2)Strengthening the digital landscape in nutrition is needed. Basically digitizing nutrition the same way health service delivery is being conducted. This will ensure that nutrition data and information systems are digitised for easier access and real time tracking. Adopting National information platforms for nutrition that trickle down to county governments. For example Nigeria’s multisectoral workshops promote data interoperability via a proposed Multisector Nutrition Data Strategic Framework (MNDSF) and National Nutrition Data Alliance (NDA), embedding nutrition indicators in routine systems and community reporting.
3) By adopting proved strategies such as the SUN movement pooled financing and the World bank recommended subsidy repurposing then partnering with donors for county level investment cases that demonstrates high returns, there is a study on that here (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11856574/). Conduct peer exchanges (e.g., with Nigeria, Ethiopia) and enforce transparency via legislative oversight to boost domestic mobilization.
4)By embedding participatory mechanisms for example In Kisumu, the HealthyFoodAfrica project used participatory co-design with community health promoters for nutrition materials, home visits, and cooking demos, boosting dietary diversity and sustaining impact through existing structures. Furthermore the Government can mandate Community Nutrition Forums in counties, mirroring Kisumu’s model, with CSOs facilitating quarterly feedback loops to the Kenya National Nutrition Coordinating Platform. Train frontline workers as policy advocates via CSO-led capacity building, using digital tools like WhatsApp groups for real-time input.
5)by adapting unified monitoring frameworks from Ethiopia and Rwanda, alongside global tools like the World Bank’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Governance (MNG) diagnostic, to address gaps in its existing Kenya Nutrition Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework. For example Ethiopia’s NIPN employs a four step cycle , policy questions, data analysis, dialogues, and dissemination for real-time accountability, tracking Seqota Declaration progress across sectors via joint scorecards and public dashboards. (https://jogh.org/2024/jogh-14-03041)
Rwanda’s DPEM uses district-level MEAL with community health worker reports feeding into national systems, enforcing accountability through quarterly reviews and performance contracts tied to funding.
Dear Amos,
Thank you for your feedback on this dialogue. The country specific lessons and the supporting references provided are very helpful.
Thank you for curating this.Its such an important part of eradicating malnutrition in Kenya.
1.KNAP 2023–2027 presents an opportunity to more deliberately integrate technology at the intersection of climate, food systems and nutrition. Climate-informed tools such as early warning systems by Rosewill Bome Technologies can enable farmers to make timely, evidence-based planting decisions, improving both productivity and nutrition outcomes.
2.Equally important is community education and the creation of feedback mechanisms that strengthen communication between government, NGOs and communities, ensuring that technology adoption translates into meaningful impact.
3.To reduce duplication and improve efficiency, KNAP implementation could be strengthened through the systematic use of outcome indicators to identify gaps, overlaps and priority areas requiring additional resources. Mapping NGO interventions and results at the county level would enhance coordination, accountability and alignment with national nutrition goals.
4.KNAP could further strengthen sustainability by more intentionally integrating indigenous and traditional foods into nutrition strategies. Reconnecting with locally rooted food systems.While also learning from successful practices across the region ,can support culturally appropriate, climate-resilient and nutritionally diverse diets.
Together we will eradicate malnutrition in Kenya.
A Good practice of an NGO led multi sectorial strengthening in Uganda
By Dolline Busolo( Then a regional Nutritionist for older persons in Africa)
Introduction
The case comprises my personal experience in Uganda. It highlights how the government of Uganda was strengthened to integrate the nutrition health and social protection into government plans and funding frameworks. The steps approaches, process and outcomes are highlighted, The program was classified as a good practice by senior management because is an example of how an NGO influenced policy and programme changes at National level without being visible in coordination mechanisms.
l think APSP could adopt some aspects of the learning for the planned work in Kenyan planned. I have highlighted key steps approaches and processes that led to the outcomes.
Step 1: Definition of the NGO niche (Value)
Based on the value of the NGO has expertise in providing Better Nutrition of Older people in Africa, the niche was defined as: Supporting harmonising and strenghthening Governments and NGO plans programs and budgets in key thematic sectors to mainstream older persons in nutrition and social protection sensitivity in Uganda.
Step 2: Secured a “Soft Mandate” for the NGO as a neutral convenor
The NGO positioned itself as a technical bridge and neutral convener focused on the outcomes. Defined as Co-lead a Thematic Working Group on Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection work. NOT as implementers. The programme offered:
• Convening technical dialogues
• Research that identified gaps and generation of evidence and data
• Integration of data and harmonising nutrition indicators in sector plans and programs including Cash Transfer (CT) programmes
• Supporting joint reviews
Step 3: Worked through a National Thematic Working Group(WG)S of 10 senior leadership
Instead of creating a separate multi sectorial forum or joining existing ones, the program worked with existing senior staff already participating in several multi sectorial to building their based on the five thematic areas to influence their work at both sector and multi sectorial level.
The assistant director of Health (nutrition sub department) headed the WG. The assistant Ministry of Labour co headed. Criteria for inclusion in WG members comprised their seniority with mandate to review policies programs, National plans and funding for food systems, health, income and social security for older persons. Participants:
• Ministry of Labour & Social Protection( grants for vulnerable)
• Ministry of Health (Nutrition Unit)
• National Social Protection Secretariat( Policy)
• Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), management role for the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP).
• The National Aids Control Council(grants for care-givers
• Ministry of Agriculture( Subsidised farm inputs) .
4. Clarity of message-Key message:
“Nutrition interventions alone cannot translate to better nutrition and health of older people. We help coordinate, mainstream relate Social Protection, food systems, health and funding cross sectors which translates into better nutrition for older people.”
5. Developed a Simple Coordination to answer:
• Design: Is the nutrition and health of older persons mainstreamed in the Design and targeting for social protection intervene s across the sectors ?
• Linkages: Are Social protection beneficiaries linked to Nutrition counselling and health services
• Behaviour Change: Are Social protection/funds accompanied by Nutrition education across the life cycle?
• What data is needed to empower senior staff incorporate nutrition of older persons in key national planning and monitoring framework
• Evidence & Learning: How are nutrition outcomes measured?
6. Outcome entailed :
o Harmonised coordination
o Better nutrition results budget allocation targeting across the five sectors and department inclusion
o Stronger multisectoral alignment including reporting in annual reports based on agreed indicators( i.e improved reporting of Older persons )
o Scalable learning across Africa with the programme approach documented and shared as a good practice across the organisation
o Thematic evidence based policy briefs for ministries, stakeholders and the networks
o Strengthen existing systems multi sectorial and thematic planners to mainstream nutrition Social protection sensitised indicators
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Bridging the Gap: From Policy to “Last Mile” Implementation in Kenya
To truly improve nutrition outcomes in Kenya, our strategy must move beyond high-level policy design and focus intensely on the ‘Last Mile’ of implementation.
While the Kenya Nutrition Capacity Development Framework (2020-2025) provides a robust roadmap, a significant gap remains in multisectoral data sharing at the grassroots level. Currently, nutrition data lives in silos: health facilities hold clinical data, while agricultural extension officers and social protection programs maintain separate records. This lack of visibility prevents us from addressing the root causes of malnutrition holistically.
Proposed Solutions for Improved Coordination:
Unified Digital Reporting: We must leverage the rollout of the Electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS) to include nutrition-specific indicators accessible to both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture. A farmer receiving subsidized fertilizer should be automatically flagged for support if their household shows signs of stunting.
Formalizing and Empowering CHPs: The 2022 KDHS indicates that stunting remains at 18%. To drive this down, we must fully formalize the compensation and training of Community Health Promoters (CHPs). They are the primary coordinators who bridge the gap between families and multisectoral services.
Climate-Smart Nutrition Counseling: Nutrition education can no longer exist in a vacuum. By coordinating with the environmental sector, we can empower families with climate-resilient kitchen gardening techniques, ensuring nutrient-dense diets even during the recurring droughts in our ASAL regions.
The Bottom Line
True multisectoral coordination isn’t just about ministries meeting in Nairobi; it is about a health worker and an agricultural officer visiting the same household with a unified, data-driven plan.
Kenya can strengthen implementation of the 2023–2027 national nutrition policy by learning from successful multisectoral coordination models in Africa and globally, while adapting them to the country’s devolved context. A practical starting point is benchmarking: identifying models that can work in Kenya, deploying a technical team to learn from them, and piloting the approaches in selected counties with adjustments based on local realities.
Coordinated nutrition action can be improved by establishing structured platforms where national and county representatives share experiences, discuss what works, and jointly plan responses. This would promote peer learning and reduce fragmentation. At the same time, developing an integrated digital nutrition system that consolidates data across sectors while allowing categorization by local needs, resources, funding gaps, timelines, and resource mobilization strategies would support better planning and reduce duplication.
Community Health Volunteers should be meaningfully included in these processes. As the first point of contact with communities, they understand local challenges and practical solutions, and their insights can improve targeting and responsiveness.
Nutrition initiatives should also include clear targets and shorter review periods, such as midterm or quarterly assessments, to identify gaps early and allow timely adjustments. This adaptive approach strengthens accountability and helps prevent long-term inefficiencies.
Kenya can further reduce duplication by strengthening coordination with development partners through transparent mapping of investments, alignment with national and county priorities, and complementary financing. Finally, integrating lessons from community-driven initiatives and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems through clear indicators, regular reviews, and data transparency will ensure that coordinated nutrition policies remain inclusive, accountable, and responsive to community needs.