Despite the global commitment to improving nutrition, sub-Saharan Africa suffers from the double burden of under- and overnutrition, with one-third of its population being undernourished. Like other countries, Rwanda faces challenges related to malnutrition, with more than one-third of children under 5 years of age remaining stunted. Rwanda has been using a multisectoral approach to address nutrition-related challenges. However, little is known about the scope of policies aiming to address malnutrition and food insecurity among population. This study explored the scope of Rwanda’s agriculture, food, and nutrition policies to enhance the population’s nutritional status. We conducted a retrospective review of 46 documents, including policies, strategic plans, and laws on agriculture, food and nutrition. These documents were imported into NVivo 12 for analysis, following the themes suggested by the policy triangle framework: policy context, content, process, and actors. A total of 46 documents were reviewed, comprising 16 policies, eight guidelines, 13 strategic plans, and nine laws. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources were the leading publishers of these documents, reflecting their central roles in nutrition and food systems governance. The review revealed that most policies were developed in response to national and international agendas, aimed at improving food security and nutritional needs, especially for population groups at risk of malnourishment. Reviewed policies focused on promoting agriculture as a cornerstone of food security and economic development. They also highlighted the use of multisectoral collaboration across various stakeholders and through technical working groups, including ministries, government, and non-government agencies and development partners, to combat malnutrition and ensure the well-being of the Rwandan population. While the policies themselves do not report outcomes, they reference national targets and strategic goals related to reducing malnutrition. Field visits, stakeholder consultations, research evidence, and conferences informed policy formulation processes. Rwanda faces challenges related to malnutrition and uses a multisectoral approach to enhance nutritional status and food security at all levels of government. Still, coordination efforts remain minimal. Multiple and disaggregated policies have implications for policy implementation at the local levels. This review calls for a clear framework for multisectoral collaboration between partners at all levels to enhance agriculture, food security, and nutrition for the Rwandan population.
Xavier et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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