This document discusses the capacity and leadership challenges facing Africa in supporting multisectoral action on nutrition. It finds that while many African countries have committed to improving nutrition through the SUN movement, many struggle with effective implementation due to limitations in capacity and leadership. It identifies the need for multisectoral nutrition systems and a competent workforce across various roles to coordinate nutrition efforts. The document also stresses the importance of developing technical, managerial and transformational leadership capabilities through training programs to effectively drive nutrition policies and programs.

1. Supporting Multisectoral Action:
Capacity and Nutrition Leadership Challenges
Facing Africa
ATOR 2015; ReSAKSS Conference 2016
20 October 2016
Namukolo Covic (PhD), IFPRI, Addis Ababa
n.covic@cigar.org

2. Acknowledging co-authors of
the work being presented

3. Introduction: why capacity and leadership
• 57 Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement countries
worldwide, 37 are African countries, demonstrating
the commitment of these countries to improving
nutrition.
• Despite much positive political will many struggling
to move effectively from policy development to
implementation;
• In some cases, policy development and adoption
take much longer than is warranted.
• Attention to capacity and leadership found to be
critical to progress

4. Introduction:
What Multisectoral Action Means
Addressing nutrition comprehensively requires efforts from
different sectors:
• Health, agriculture (including postharvest aspects and food
value chains), water and sanitation, social protection, etc.
Work together towards a common goal
• Includes all sectors and stakeholders who in one way or
another influence consumption patterns, nutrition quality,
safety of what is consumed, and related environmental and
economic factors that affect nutrition and health outcomes.
• Public & private sectors, NGOs, Civil Society, Consumers
• Regional and global actors
4

5. Capacity and leadership needs for the
dynamic environment of nutrition action
1. Multi-Sectoral Nutrition (MSN) Systems
• Vertical and horizontal coordination needs
2. Technical and Managerial Capacity, and Competencies to
Support Nutrition Action and to Inform Policies and
Programs
• Program staff, researchers & evaluators; frontline staff
3. Transformational leadership skills
• Leading change: common vision, commitment to
common goals, relationship management, managing
resistance to change

6. Multisectoral Nutrition Systems:
The Africa Nutrition Security Partnership
(ANSP), 2011–2015
• Focus countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, and Uganda.
• Experiences on setting up of MSN systems in each of the
countries in support of SUN implementation.
The key finding:
• There is need for a competent, multifunctional nutrition
workforce to carry out the work within the organized
scaffolding of an MSN system.
• It was possible to make/accelerate progress with attention
to the various aspects needed.

7. Multisectoral Nutrition System
Pelletier et al. (2015)

8. Multisectoral nutrition systems:
suggestions for the way forward
• Strengthen human resource capacities in the technical
coordination body for strategic oversight & coordination.
• Create a full-time implementation team to support the
national coordination and capacity-building mandate;
cascading; and ongoing support to subnational levels.
• Engage with high-level decision makers in government and
partner organizations to address critical bottlenecks through
candid reporting from the technical anchorage, the use of
real-time progress markers, and the establishment of clear
lines of accountability.
• All this requires adequate numbers; and a well capacitated
nutrition and support workforce.

9. Capacity needs for an adequate nutrition
workforce
The categories of the nutrition workforce identified and
related capacity needs:
• Programmed staff: (programme managers and those
reporting to them).
Policy planning, programme development and
implementation.
• Frontline staff: Need for quality interactions related to
intervention implementation with individuals, households
and communities.
• Researchers and evaluators: ability to generate data and
evidence, M&E; evidence framing to inform policies and
programme decisions, identifying demand.
• Technical, managerial and leadership capabilities were
identified to be limiting for all three groups.

10. Addressing technical and managerial
capacities
• Limited training facilities and quality of training programmes
• Short term: short courses/workshops to address gaps
for existing workforce.
• For the long term: curriculum review and development
to adapt to needs taking into account identified
weakness; establishment of training programmes.
• Alignment: with country needs.
• Academic/training institutions need to keep up with
developments to ensure that training programs are
responsive to the dynamic needs of nutrition over time.
• Incorporate managerial and leadership components for all
three categories of the workforce.

11. Leadership was identified as a
cross cutting capability requiring
special attention
But there is need to distinguish
between leadership and
management, commonly
misunderstood to be the same

12. Change is a process that is led, not managed
MANAGEMENT
• Well-known processes of
planning, budgeting,
structuring jobs, staffing,
measuring performance,
problem-solving .
• Helps an organization to
predictably carry out its
work.
• Helps produce institutional
products and deliver services
as promised, with consistent
quality, on budget, with
required regularity.
LEADERSHIP
• Associated with taking an
organization into the future,
finding opportunities and
successfully exploiting them.
• About vision, people buying
in, empowerment.
• Most of all about producing
useful change.
• Cross cutting skills
independent of hierarchy.

13. Some elements of transformational leadership that
can be developed are important
• Individuals orientation and abilities: strong sense of purpose that goes
beyond self-interest.
• Strong moral and ethical values, demonstrating commitment and
trustworthiness.
• Self-confidence and courage to confront tough issues; ability to network
and build teams, empower and mentor others.
• The ability to create motivating climates; ability to and willingness to
learn, energy to maintain momentum even under difficult
circumstances.
• Being in-tune with reality, ability to deal with ambiguity
• A high degree of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and excellent
communication skills critical to manage relationships especially when
faced with strong divergence of opinions.
• The ability to manage resistance to change.

14. It is possible to develop leadership capabilities
A number of leadership development programmes are currently in
place but more effort is needed given the cross cutting nature of
the required skills:
1. The African Nutrition Leadership Programme (ANLP); Regional
10-day leadership immersion program, NWU, South Africa;
National level versions (Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda).
2. Le Programme de Leadership Africain en Nutrition (PLAN),
(Morocco).
3. Transform Nutrition (IFPRI &IDS-UK); has a low- and middle-
income country focus but main focus is on technical skills with
minor leadership development element
4. The Scaling Up Nutrition Leadership in Africa (SUNLEAD)
project; train a group of leadership trainers to enable scaling
up of nutrition leadership development in Africa.

15. Concluding remarks
To sustain the progress that has so far been made and accelerate
progress on nutrition:
• Effective MSN systems are needed for both vertical and horizontal
coordination of nutrition action. These need adequate attention
on capacity.
• MSN systems need a well capacitated nutrition workforce to carry
out the needed functions involving planning, implementation,
M&E of policies and programmes, evidence informed decision
making processes.
• We need adequately designed curricula and training programmes
for the short and long term. They must be responsive to needs.
• Leadership capacity is critical for all to navigate the highly
dynamic nutrition landscape to manage the change process.

16. Supporting Multisectoral Action:
Capacity and Nutrition Leadership
Challenges Facing Africa
ATOR 2015
Johann Jerling, David Pelletier, Jessica Fanzo, and Namukolo Covic
n.covic@cigar.org