New report reviews how adolescent nutrition is addressed with policies and programmes

A new report published by Save the Children in March 2015 focuses on Policy and Programming in SUN Countries for adolescent nutrition.

The aim of the report is to share experiences from different countries about types of approaches used and challenges faced when addressing adolescent nutrition. This knowledge will help to inform other countries so that they can strengthen their own relevant policies and programmes for adolescent nutrition.

Adolescence is a time of rapid physical growth, second only to the first 1000 day window of opportunity from conception through to two years of age. Therefore, optimal nutrition during this period of life is crucial and targeting adolescent girls in particular, is vital in order to break the inter-generational cycle of malnutrition.

The nature of adolescent nutrition means that responsibilities for supporting it need to span a wide range of ministries and actors at country level. Challenges identified in the report include:

• Insufficient policy attention to adolescent nutrition
• Lack of empirical evidence and documented practical experience
• Pathways of communication to adolescents is not well understood
• Adolescents themselves are not consulted on how services can better satisfy their nutritional needs

SUN Countries Ethiopia, Mozambique and Nepal have been identified in the report as SUN Countries which have made strides by having started making inroads towards integrated approaches to adolescent nutrition across sectors. The report states there could be value in future investigations into these countries and the effectiveness of their approaches.

Find out more about the report at Save the Children UK

Source: ACC/SCN 2000