Strengthening Nutrition in Tanzania through Government-led Efforts and Collaborative Research

TFNC participants taking a group photo with USAID Advancing Nutrition facilitators.

Photo Credit: Omary Jumanne/HKI

Focus Area(s):

Tanzania is leading efforts to improve multisectoral nutrition programming, with support from USAID Advancing Nutrition. Since 2019, the project has been working to develop institutional capacity and provide technical assistance to local nutrition-sensitive government entities including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Center (TFNC).

Working in close collaboration with the PMO and TFNC, USAID Advancing Nutrition has helped to strengthen coordination among stakeholders for multi-sectoral nutrition, supporting the planning for nutrition-sensitive activities among government entities. The project has also played a key role in developing tools and strategies to bolster this effort, including the second National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP II), Resources Mobilization Strategy (RMS), the Tanzania Nutrition Leadership Program Course (TNLP), and Planning and Budgeting Guidelines for Nutrition Sensitive Sectors.

To support implementation of NMNAP II and RMS, the project also developed four briefs to facilitate clear understanding of content included in the two documents. These include: (1) A summary brief of the key points of NMNAP II to support its wide dissemination (in Swahili); (2) a social protection brief to create more awareness on how to integrate nutrition in the social protection system, a new highlight in NMNAP II; (3) a media engagement brief used to strengthen TFNC’s capacity on how they can engage with media when offering technical nutrition support; and (4) a PMO coordination brief to allow stakeholders to understand how nutrition is coordinated in Tanzania. Furthermore, the project developed methodology and tools to assist in annual assessment of RMS implementation. The tools aim to guide all stakeholders to report their financial spending against NMNAP II key result areas as a way of monitoring both spending and execution of NMNAP II activities.

In addition to these capacity development initiatives, the TFNC is collaborating with USAID Advancing Nutrition on research related to dietary intake and nutrition. TFNC is also conducting a cross-sectional study among women of reproductive age, caregivers of children aged 6-24 months, and adolescent girls aged 15-19 in mainland Tanzania, with the goal of gaining insights into the food practices, preferences, and social norms that influence dietary intake. The project has also strengthened TFNC’s capacity to analyze and use Household Consumption and Expenditures Survey (HCES) data to make policy and program decisions to improve diets among the population.

The government of Tanzania is demonstrating its commitment to advancing nutrition in the country through this work, and the partnership with USAID Advancing Nutrition is playing an important role in supporting these efforts. Through capacity development, research, and data analysis, Tanzania is working to improve nutritional outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations such as women and children.

Relevant News, Resources, Features, Events: