The Task Force on Scaling Up Nutrition is based within the Ministry of Planning, which has been attached to the President’s Office following the most recent reshuffle. As a result, the task force’s activities are provisionally being coordinated by the Ministry of Health, while awaiting a decree to formalize the institutional anchoring of this platform.

Overall, funding for nutrition has decreased due to the health crisis. However, funding for nutrition-specific interventions has been secured from two new partners: Nutrition International (CFA 320 million) and Alive & Thrive (CFA 10 million). There has also been successful advocacy with the German Development Agency (GIZ) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which has led to funding for nutrition-sensitive capacity-building activities in agriculture, as well as the promotion of good infant and young child feeding practices in the context of COVID-19. A study into the investment case has been carried out with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which will be followed up with an advocacy strategy.

At a meeting in early 2021, a framework was developed for reporting on interventions in the nutrition plan that have been implemented by each sector. Task force members have validated the study on the mainstreaming of nutrition into Togo’s policies, strategies, plans and programmes. Various other studies and analyses were carried out and validated in 2021, including the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) analysis by the University of Kara, which was pre-validated by the task force members, and an investment case with support from UNICEF. The main challenge, especially for the SUN Academia Network, concerns the lack of funding sources for nutrition research and food science.

Advocacy has been carried out for the ministry responsible for coordinating the task force to be attached to the President’s Office, and for the ministry’s Secretary-General to be nominated as Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office. At present, there is no common performance monitoring system. Platforms are in place in the regions where the GIZ-supported food and nutrition security project is running.