Nutrition data and information systems (ND&IS) are critical to guide the prioritisation, collection, analysis and dissemination of nutrition data in countries. However, there is limited guidance for countries regarding how to invest in their ND&IS and little is known about current financing allocations by both countries and donors. This hinders our ability to identify the most critical funding gaps and to effectively advocate for increased financial commitments to ND&IS.
To better characterise donor investments, Farina et al conducted a review of Official Development Assistance (ODA) financing for ND&IS between the years 2017 and 2019. The analysis showed overall donor financing for ND&IS is not trending up between 2017 and 2019 with the majority of funding being channelled through multilateral organisations to the health sector and spent on global initiatives and emergency early warning system and surveillance activities.
Given these findings, donors should dedicate at least 5% (4%–6%) of nutrition investments, alongside country governments, to support country capacity building and strengthening of ND&IS. Donors should also consider channelling a larger part of ODA for ND&IS activities through public institutions to build their capacity to manage ND&IS strengthening.
Key Messages
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Nutrition data and information systems are designed to collect, analyse and share timely nutrition data to monitor the status of nutrition priorities and programmes at the national level and inform decisions around programme planning, budgeting and advocacy.
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There are no accessible estimates of current financing allocations for nutrition data and information systems (ND&IS) by both countries and donors.
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Overall annual Official Development Assistance (ODA) for ND&IS, while significant at an average of $47 million (lower estimate) and $89 million (upper estimate) per year, is not trending up, with an increase between 2017 and 2018 and an equivalent decrease between 2018 and 2019.
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Most funding was directed to global initiatives, early warning system/surveillance systems, and periodical data collection activities, and flowed through multilateral organisations and non-governmental organisations. Comparatively, less funding was spent on country capacity strengthening activities or channelled directly to governments and public sector institutions.
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The top ND&IS donors are the same as the top nutrition financing donors, and most of their ND&IS development assistance is channelled to the health sector with less to other sectors addressing underlying causes of malnutrition.
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Donors should dedicate at least 5% of nutrition investments, alongside country governments, to support country capacity building and strengthening of ND&IS.
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Donors should also consider channelling a larger part of ODA for ND&IS activities through public institutions to build their capacity to manage ND&IS strengthening.
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