SUPPORT-SYSTEMS (5) Advocacy organizations and nutrition policy in Nigeria: Identifying metrics for enhanced efficacy

30 April, 2022

Over the next 3 years HIFA is contributing to a new research project: Can decision-making processes for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage be made more inclusive, responsive and accountable? https://www.hifa.org/news/can-decision-making-processes-health-systems-s...

I invite HIFA members to share papers and observations. This new paper in Health Policy and Planning explores how to measure effectiveness of advocacy, including use of evidence.

CITATION: Advocacy organizations and nutrition policy in Nigeria: Identifying metrics for enhanced efficacy

Danielle Resnick et al.

Health Policy and Planning, czac037, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czac037

Published: 28 April 2022

https://academic.oup.com/heapol/advance-article/doi/10.1093/heapol/czac0...

ABSTRACT

Advocacy organizations have played a significant role in the field of nutrition in recent years. However, why are some advocates viewed as more effective than others? This paper derives metrics for assessing advocacy efficacy by first drawing on key insights from the nutrition and public policy scholarship. A set of metrics is proposed to capture the constitutive elements of three concepts that often emerge as critical from that literature: organizational capacity, strong networks, and external outreach. Based on a survey of 66 nutrition stakeholders in Nigeria, including at the federal level and within the states of Kaduna and Kano, the metrics are then applied to a set of advocacy organizations within the country. We show that the metrics can provide insights into why some advocacy organizations are perceived as more effective than others by policymakers. Specifically, we find that geographical reach, share of budget allocated to advocacy, action plans with clear objectives, large networks that include government and nongovernmental policy champions, multiple media and dissemination outputs, and numerous training events collectively increase nutrition advocates’ visibility to, and influence on,policy system, t policymakers. Although the metrics are subject to further testing in other country settings and need to be interpreted based on a country’s underlying they offer a useful starting point for more systematic, comparative advocacy analysis and learning within the nutrition field and beyond.

One of the questions they propose for assessment is: Where do you obtain data, research, and information to substantiate the policies that you advocate?

SELECTED EXTRACTS

'External outreach is most effective when it involves communicating messages based on credible evidence that are framed appropriately and delivered through multiple written, audiovisual media, and in-person activities.'

'FHI360, NI, CS-SUNN, and UNICEF rely heavily on national survey data, such as publicly accessible Demographic Health Surveys and the National

Nutrition and Health Survey. Three of these also conduct their own in-house data collection where needed.'

COMMENT (NPW): CS-SUNN is the acronym for Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria - a hybrid coalition of international and domestic organisations. This illustrates the potential for international and national CSOs to work together to identify and present evidence for increased impact.

Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org

Working in official relations with WHO