NIPN study in Guatemala informs future policies

The NIPN in Guatemala has performed an analysis of progress in implementing multisectoral stunting reduction strategies, drawing three main lessons:

1. Commitments and priorities under each successive stunting reduction strategy were not matched by required financial inputs.
2. Adequate and balanced budget allocations as well as repartitions across and within sectors have not been optimally assured for every component of the strategy. The implementation of key components has been affected by the low financial execution capacities of some actors/sectors.
3. The absence of coverage data and outcome-level indicators means that it is not possible to track whether progress is made against the strategic and operational plans, and to course correct where necessary.
   The full report, in Spanish, has been presented at the Congress ahead of the 2019 elections to advocate for better implementation of nutrition actions and, where appropriate, to consider adjustments to implementation or budget allocation. A brief has also been published in English as an “EU case study” for wider dissemination, as the lessons learnt have a universal value. This study demonstrates the potential of the NIPN approach for tracking country-level progress and informing decisions using existing data.