Choices international has recently issued the report “The translation of international recommendations on the double burden of malnutrition into practice in Kenya”. This research was conducted by our intern Tele Boit, currently pursuing a Master of Nutrition and Health at Wageningen University.
The study consisted of comprehensive policy document analyses to have an overview of the national nutrition policies as well as stakeholder interviews to acquire knowledge on the translation and implementation of nutrition policies within the country. The results of this study showed a national nutrition policy specifically developed to target the prevention of the double burden of malnutrition has not been developed. However, the existing nutrition policies target the prevention of one or more forms of malnutrition. Several impediments to a more comprehensive implementation of nutrition policies to address the double burden of malnutrition were identified including inadequate resources and of lack of political prioritization.
Tele concluded that an integrated food system with a multisectoral approach is required to tackle the double burden of malnutrition within the country. Among her recommendations were the inclusion of Double Duty Actions as recommended by the World Health Organization, the introduction of nutrition labelling as well as government prioritization of addressing nutrition issues. Download the report here.