National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) 2016 - 2021.

This National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) is a 5-year document implementing the 2016 National Food and Nutrition Policy (FNP) in addition to being its 10-year Implementation Strategy, up to 2025/26. It broadly aims to accelerate scaling up of high impact multi-sectoral nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions and creating an enabling environment for improved nutrition, so that children, adolescents, women and men in Tanzania are better nourished leading to healthier and more productive lives that contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. The NMNAP is evidence-informed, results-oriented, and consistent with the theory of change and based on the three ONES principle at all levels: one plan, one coordinating mechanism, and one monitoring and evaluation framework. To achieve that goal, has identified the following seven key results areas (i) scaling-up maternal, infant, young child and adolescent nutrition; (ii) scaling up prevention and control of micro-nutrient deficiencies; (iii) scaling up integrated management of acute malnutrition; (iv) scaling up prevention and management of diet related non-communicable diseases; (v) integration of multi-sectoral nutrition sensitive interventions; (vi) improving nutrition governance; and (vii) establishing a multi-sectoral nutrition information system. It is important to specify that the term malnutrition is used to refer to both under-nutrition and over-nutrition (mainly overweight and obesity, which lead to the development of diet related non-communicable diseases), and the NMNAP is a so-called “double duty action” plan that integrates actions to combat simultaneously the two issues into one plan.
To help eliminate hunger and food insecurity, main interventions will be directed to (i) promote optimal intake of essential micro-nutrients; (ii) supplementation, fortification and dietary diversification enhancements which focus on increasing the supply, availability and utilization of foods rich in vitamins and minerals, bio-diversification, improved dietary behaviors and care; (iii) public health measures such as deworming, immunization, and control of diarrhea through safe water, sanitation and hygiene to reduce the risk of micro-nutrient losses from the body and increase the bio-availability and absorption of the nutrients consumed; (iv) enabling environment with political commitment, policies and regulatory mechanisms as well as a general awareness about the importance of micro-nutrients and strategies available to ensure optimal intake; (v) adopt agricultural practices that diversify nutrient content and train agricultural officers on production of nutritious food; (vi) school milk feeding program; (vii) promote small scale livestock keeping and fish farming for domestic consumption; (vii) use of appropriate technology, solar dryers, and irrigation to increase food availability; (viii) improve food safety and quality for enhancement of nutrition status.
In order to make agriculture and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the Action Plan envisages (i) increased production of diversified nutritious foods using modern technological methods, bio-diversification, post-harvest prevention of losses and quality; (ii) agriculture extension training; (iii) skills development for improved livestock productivity; and (iv) fisheries development through deep sea fishing, aquaculture, empowerment of artisanal fishers.
More inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems will be enabled by (i) optimizing focus on women’s nutrition and empowerment to increase their decision-making power; (ii) promotion of agro-industries to add value and finding easy access to markets; (iii) strengthening Public-Private Partnership for seed development, access to finance, and technology transfer and farmer support services; (iv) women and youth empowerment through agriculture; (v) construction of strategic markets at the borders, improving and empowering corporative unions; (vi) encouraging cooperative unions and private sector to establishing agro-processing industries; and (vii) improvement of meat quality and marketing.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the need is to undertake operations research to better understand the link between climate change, temperature, rainfall and agriculture output and develop a strategy for addressing nutrition needs of populations that are prone to climate change hazards.
The framework used in developing nutrition governance actions in this NMNAP focuses on four key factors (1) intersectoral cooperation of Government and non-Government sectors, including government oversight for the engagement of private sector partners, such as the food industry; (2) vertical coordination between the different levels of Government from local to national levels; (3) sustainable funding from all levels of Government and well managed and transparently tracked; and (4) monitoring and advocacy. The current nutrition coordinating structures include (a) a High Level Steering Committee on Nutrition (HLSCN); (b) Multisectoral Nutrition Technical Working Group (MN-TWG); and (c) Ten National Consultative groups (i) Infant and Young Child Feeding, (ii) Nutrition surveillance, (iii) Iodine Deficiency Disorders, (iv) Anemia, (v) Vitamin A Supplementation, (vi) Food Fortification Alliance, (vii) Household food security, (viii) Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, (ix) Nutrition and HIV, and (x) Emergency nutrition.