The Coalition for Food and Nutrition SecurityStrategic Plan 2017 - 2021

GOOD GOVERNANCE,GOOD POLICY

Table of Contents

Executive StrategyAbout CFNSFormulating a New Strategy

Challenges and OpportunitiesIndia’s double burden of hunger and malnutritionPublic investments and progressive policiesAn unprecedented global movement

Ending Humanity’s Biggest Crisis – A Strategy OverviewMission, Vision and Goals

The Roadmap: Strategic Initiatives and EnablersCall for SMART TargetsStrategic Initiatives Strategic Enablers

Theory of ChangeOrganisation StructureFinancial Plan and Funding StrategyRisk ManagementConclusionAppendix 1: Proposed Activities

Executive SummaryThe Coalition is a multi stakeholder alliance comprising of government, ministers, representatives from the erstwhile Planning Commission, academia, NGOs, national and international development partners, the private sector and media. Since 2007 it has served as a platform for the members to collaborate and achieve the common vision of “sustainable food and nutrition security for all." Membership of the coalition has grown to 114 members spanning 13 states of India. Recognising the need for resource and implementation convergence for better delivery, the Coalition has facilitated multiple cross group collaborations, dialogues between subject matter experts, policy leaders and agencies.

It has undertaken multiple initiatives in promoting food and nutrition security in India. Some of its achievements include influencing key policy decisions including the Food Security Bill, ICDS restructuring, the 12th five year plan, and more recently, the National Nutrition Mission. Members believe the Coalition has huge potential to play a critical role in promoting food and nutrition security in India.

Hunger continues to take its largest toll in India. With 194.6 million i.e., 15% of its population, hungry and undernourished, India ranks 97 among 118 developing countries. Around 38.4 % of children under 5 are stunted, making it the home for over one-third of the world’s stunted children. Of the 12.4 crore children under 5 in India, 7.2 crore are anaemic, 5 crore stunted, 2.6 crore wasted and 4.4 crore children underweight.

India is also severely afflicted by hidden hunger or micronutrient malnutrition which result in an endemic occurrence of anaemia number of deficiencies.

Often termed as the Indian enigma, the double burden of hunger and malnutrition exists despite India having world’s largest investment in food and nutrition security through public funded programmes. It has formulated progressive policies such as the National Food Security Act 2013 which constitutionalises the right to food and nutrition. There is also an unprecedented global movement gaining momentum. Some notable developments include nutrition sensitive targets and indicators in the 17 SDGs, WHA targets and the call for Decade of Action for Nutrition. Collectively, these movements have also resulted in the world leaders pledging to “end

hunger and malnutrition by 2030.” Various extra government movements have taken shape such as the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, anchored by UNOPS but led by civil society, donor agencies, private sector, entrepreneurs, media, in over 30 countries. In light of this national and global opportunity to draw attention to the emergency of hunger and malnutrition, the Coalition felt the need to play a transformative role.

In 2014, the strategic direction document drawn up by Boston Consulting Group has provided a baseline. Brief received from the executive body which commissioned the current review has indicated its readiness for a transforming and ambitious plan, in keeping with the urgency of the call to achieve food and nutrition security. The methodology involving a large consultation enriched with in-depth interviews upholds that organizational objective.

This exercise was initiated in early 2017 and comprised of a number of stakeholder consultations. The draft strategy was shared widely and feedback received from the Board, Coalition members and thought leaders and practitioners from across India and the world. The strategy includes a landscape analysis, articulation of the vision, mission and core values, setting of specific goals, a detailed strategic plan including the strategic initiatives to realise the goals, an operational plan and organization structure.

The vision and mission of the Coalition has been further delineated through six goals. These precisely articulated goals include policy reform, empowering women to anchor the narrative and targeting specific urgencies such as malnutrition of all kinds, nutrition in pregnancy, protein hunger, structural as well as geographical barriers. The goals were formed keeping in mind the need to strengthen political accountability as an overarching objective.

Keeping in mind the key strengths of the Coalition, it was concluded that the key roles should be that of

Knowledge aggregator, Convener Social Watch Collaborator

The goals were further broken down into specific targets derived from the SDGs and WHA but determined as per the national reality. It was decided that the Coalition will work with the governments to ascertain Average Annual

Rates of Reduction. Overall 9 SMART targets and 5 AARs have been recommended. In its new strategic direction, the Coalition will undertake 5 strategic initiatives and depend on 3 models of operation for its success.Strategic Initiatives are as follows:

1. Sustained and Inclusive Membership Engagement 2. Knowledge Management 3. State Accountability to SDGs and WHA Targets 4. Evidence Based Advocacy 5. Catalyse Behaviour Change

The Strategic Enablers would be the following:1. Network and Alliance Model 2. Working Group Model3. Action Research Model4. Technology and Innovation

State chapters, national and global advisory bodies, regional platforms, patrons and mentors of the Coalition will determine the success of the strategic initiatives.

To support the revised and more aspirational strategic roadmap, the Coalition has commissioned a resource mobilization strategy independently. Fund will be raised through multiple approaches keeping in mind the altered political economy of aid.

About CFNS

The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (CFNS) enters its second decade as a platform for members to collaborate and work towards the common vision of “sustainable food and nutrition security for all.” Today it has 114 members spanning 13 states of India and thousands of well-wishers and supporters across the globe. Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs, represent the Government of India in the Coalition’s Governing Board. The Coalition is well recognized for its efforts to mainstream food and nutrition as a topic of interest and concern in the public domain. Discharging its role as an aggregator of knowledge and social watch, the Coalition worked closely with policy makers and political leaders. Public debates were fostered to bring stakeholder and message alignment on numerous pressing issues.

Key achievements of the Coalition during its decade long journey include:

Facilitated multiple cross group collaborations, dialogues between subject matter experts, policy leaders and agencies

Successfully transformed the leadership agenda of action (LAA) Acted as a valued knowledge partner of State and Central Governments;

national observatory on important issues and international best practices Advocacy gains include influencing key policy decisions such as Food Security

Law, ICDS restructuring, the 12th five-year plan, increasing accountability through State Food Commission, Food Fortification policy and National Nutrition Mission.

Formulating a New Strategy

The Coalition believes that there is a real opportunity, given its inherent strength as a multi-stakeholder alliance with a governing body comprising of thought and policy leaders, to transform the food and nutrition landscape. This strategy takes cognisance of the recent monumental changes in the political economy and aims to transform through collective action, keeping sustainability as the key approach and by placing women at the forefront.

In 2014, the strategic direction document drawn up by Boston Consulting Group has provided a baseline. Brief received from the executive body which commissioned the current review has indicated its readiness for a transforming and ambitious plan, in keeping with the urgency of the call to achieve food and nutrition security. The methodology involving a large consultation enriched with in-depth interviews upholds that organizational objective.

Over the years, there has been a dramatic increase in the membership enrollment. A governing board has been elected. The Government of Indian has expressed an interest to work collaboratively with the Coalition and there has been a growing aspiration amongst members to play a transformational role in the evolving landscape of food and nutrition. Given its legacy and inherent strengths, CFNS is well poised to influence the narrative and it is to this end that a new strategic direction is being sought.

Objectives of the review:

• Identifying the landscape – key opportunities and challenges• A well-orchestrated and catalyctic civil society response at a global,

regional, national and local level• Role of the coalition as a change agent and partner to the government• Strategic directions and key priority areas for the next 3-5 years• Operational design

Challenges and OpportunitiesIndia’s double burden of hunger and malnutrition

Hunger continues to take its largest toll in India. According to the Hunger Report 2015, 15 % of India’s population (194.6 million) remain hungry and undernourished. On the Global Hunger Index Indian ranked 97 among 118 developing countries. Around 38.4 % of children under 5 are stunted, making it the home for over one-third of the world’s stunted children. Of the 12.4 crore children under 5 in India, 7.2 crore are anaemic, 5 crore stunted, 2.6 crore wasted and 4.4 crore children underweight.

Often referred as the “Indian enigma,” hunger and malnutrition prevail despite economic growth. This points to the fact that apart from growing income inequality, nutrition is also linked to structural barriers such as culture specific dietary habits, deprivation of the pregnant mother’s diet leading to low birth weight and many such causes. Childhood wasting and malnutrition ranging from moderate severe to acute severe have been steadily on the rise (NFHS III and NFHS IV). Although the national average of IMR has dropped from 51 to 41 in 10 years, inter state disparities remain a critical concern. Due to rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles India runs the risk of an impending epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases related to poor nutrition (ATNI, 2016). According to NFHS IV, 20.7% women and 18.6% men were found to be obese and overweight.

India is also severely afflicted by hidden hunger or micronutrient malnutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies, which are commonly known as deficiencies of vitamins and minerals below healthy thresholds, affect all the income groups across all states. One manifestation of this crisis is the wide prevalence of anaemia among the children and women. More than 58 % children between 6-59 months old, 53% women 15- 49 years old and 22.7% men 15-49 years old are anaemic. Protein hunger and access to safe and nutritious food remains a challenge.

Public investments and progressive policies

India’s investment in food and nutrition security is the highest in the world. Enactment of National Food Security Act-2013 has constitutionalised the right to food and nutrition. Despite its many inadequacies, this Act safeguards people’s absolute right to nutritious food throughout the stage

s of their lives. Laws such as the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992 and Amendment Act 2003 provide a strong policy framework for protecting, supporting and promoting nutrition interventions – especially during periods of greatest vulnerability for children and women.

A target to double agricultural productivity and farmer’s income in the next five years is an important step towards ensuring availability of food for all. The National Nutrition Mission and comprehensive regulation on food fortification are expected to address all forms of malnutrition including micronutrient deficiencies. A number of State Nutrition Missions and State Food Commissions have been set up as per the mandate of National Food Security Act-2013. Government flagship programmes like Swachh Bharat Mission with a goal to make India free from open defecation will have bearings on nutrition outcomes. Policy measures providing Maternity Benefit of Rs 6,000 for pregnant women and an extended maternity leave of 26 weeks demonstrate a political and policy commitment to food and nutrition. India has pioneered an obligatory mandate for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending amounting to 2% of a company’s net profit on social development. The Schedule VII of CSR ACT includes activities related to eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition.

Some Indian states provide tremendous opportunity to learn and replicate. Kerala has reduced its IMR to 6, which is way ahead of other Indian states and at par with the US and other developed nations. North Eastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Tripura and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep have made progress on nutrition and health indicators. These states can set benchmarks for fixing SMART targets for other states and the National Nutrition Mission.

An unprecedented global movement Universal food security has proved to be a shifting goal because of its underlying complexities. The bell has tolled on landmark global commitments – the Rome action plan, MDGs – with mixed results. In the new phase of development, there is an unprecedented momentum for hunger and nutrition – as is evident in interlinked global declarations and commitments – ranging from the SDGs to the Decade of Action for Nutrition to national and sub national policies.

The SDGs have a standalone goal on hunger and malnutrition. Of the 17 goals, at least 12 have nutrition related and nutrition sensitive indicators, particularly gender, health and agriculture.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed six nutrition goals in 2012 – another benchmark which allows for countries to set national level targets, raise resources and plan out their nutrition actions. Regular reporting has followed on these targets in many countries, including in India. These six interlinked targets underpin the multidimensionality of the challenge. During the post 2015 development phase they served as a baseline for discussions.

Collectively, these movements have also resulted in the world leaders pledging to “end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.” Various extra government movements have taken shape such as the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, anchored by UNOPS but led by civil society, donor agencies, private sector, entrepreneurs, media, in over 30 countries. SUN works to demand accountability on the commitments that have been made.

Ending Humanity’s Biggest Crisis – A Strategy OverviewManifesto and Mandate:Over the next 5 years we will work to ensure that sustainable food and nutrition is a priority agenda not only for the government, civil society and other development actors, but also for the socially responsible businesses, media, aid agencies and citizens at large. Our efforts will be guided and underscored by the belief that women play a strategic role in protecting food and nutrition sovereignty and that increasing food demands should not be met at the cost of depleting earth’s resources.

Vision: To achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for all.

Mission:The Coalition aims to raise awareness, foster collaboration and advocate for improved programmes to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security in India.

Core Values: Conviction and Courage: Critically engaging with public policy and taking political positions on issues of public interest concerning health and nutritionEquity and diversity: Building an inclusive Coalition across India and giving equal space to each member regardless of size, capacity, or positionDemocratic discourse: Engaging transparently and collaboratively with multiple stakeholders including the government, civil society and private sector

Role as a catalyst of change: Knowledge aggregator: Gather evidence, collate existing research to dispel

myths, communicate scientifically proven directions. Convener: To bring about message and stakeholder alignment. Social Watch: Improving state accountability and inequity. Collaborator with the government: Providing informed choices on policy

reforms, breakthrough research, strategic priorities.

Goals and Commitments:

Goal 1Political commitment for pro-poor public policy and improved governance to end all forms of malnutrition Highest levels of political will and commitment at all levels of governance will be required to address structural and underlying issues of hunger and malnutrition, bring changes in food and nutrition financing, strengthen institutional arrangements at various levels. There is an urgent need to address the entire life cycle of food and nutrition security, address hidden hunger and remove structural barriers. Despite its merits as a policy measure assuring universal coverage, the present National Food Security Act is inadequate in many ways. The ICDS programme, designed to address many critical factors such as early childhood, has failed to deliver on its promise. The Coalition will work with the government to bring about a new generation of policies and programmes, taking into account learnings and inadequacies of the past.

Goal 2Prioritise actions in the first 1000 days of lifeThe first 1000 days of a child’s life and the mother’s healthy pregnancy has lasting impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive — and on a country’s prosperity and well being. There is an urgent need to draw attention to this important phase of the lifecycle and its inter linkages – health of a woman leading upto the pregnancy, meeting her food and nutrition requirements during pregnancy, impact of intimate partner violence on her health and thereafter ensuring that a child receives nutritious food in the first 1000 days to prevent diminished learning capacity and lifelong diseases. The Coalition will direct its advocacy efforts to position the first 1000 days as the most important window of intervention.

Goal 3Empower women and girls to realise their potential to improve access to safe and nutritious food There is a critical need to invest in women and girls. Adolescent anaemia, poor access to education and skills training, early marriages deepen the deprivation that young women and girls face. In India, 26.8 per cent women marry before the age of 18 and at least 28.8 per cent married women face domestic violence. This has implications on poor decision and control over resources. The patriarchal system and its overarching impact on women is the single largest

obstacle to attaining food and nutrition equity. There is an urgent need to address the power systems at work at the social, filial and personal level.

Goal 4Climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture that meets sustained food and nutrition demandThe Indian agricultural economy mainly comprises of small hold farmers who practice subsistence farming. Enough protections will be required to insulate the poorest from sudden damages caused by increasingly frequent climate change and human made disasters. Eventually, any coming together of a movement to end hunger and malnutrition must take in account the finite availability of resources through diversifying farming and production system. A socially just market economics and political will are the foundations of any progress that is achieved.

Goal 5Prioritise hunger and malnutrition hotspotsChildren from marginalised sections of the society have been dying due to malnutrition. There is an urgent need to specifically address such emergencies. In collaboration with the government, multiple sectors including the civil society needs to come together to put up a convergent and research backed response. The Coalition will advocate for special programs and priorities addressing emergencies of hunger and malnutrition in communities which suffer social, political and geographical exclusion.

Goal 6Regional leadership in amplifying the southern voice and increasing accountability on SDGs and WHA targets

The Coalition being the unique and largest of its kind in South Asia can emerge as a regional and global platform on knowledge and amplify the southern discourse. There are potential in-country, regional and global opportunities on food and nutrition. An ambitious and optimistic stage has been set with SDG Goal 2 integrating food, nutrition and agriculture. Global movements and platforms like SUN, SAFANSI, LANSA, Zero Hunger Challenge, Transform Nutrition have gained momentum. The Coalition will participate proactively in this movement.

The RoadmapCall for SMART TargetsOur goals, objectives and targets are aligned with national priorities and targets, WHA and UNSDG targets. Reducing under-nutrition among the children will be our focus. We will work with the government to set SMART targets on key child nutrition indicators. State Governments will be made accountable to perform as per these targets. We will work in collaboration to monitor progress.

Global Targets

1. Child stunting – reduce by 40%2. Child wasting – reduce to less than 5%3. Anaemia - reduce anaemia in women of reproductive age by 50%4. Exclusive breastfeeding - increase by at least 50%5. Low birth weight- reduce by 30%6. Child overweight - No increase 7. Doubling the farmers income in five years8. Focus on Deworming + Open Defecation Free society-20199. Robust Food safety, Quality control and Quality Assurance mechanism

Set SMART target and achieve

1. Reduce prevalence of low birth weight babies – 2% Per Annum2. Prevent and reduce underweight of children – 2% Per Annum 3. Reduce prevalence of anaemia amongst young children (06-59 months) –

3% Per Annum4. Reduce the prevalence of anaemia amongst women and adolescent girls in

the age group of 15-49 years - 3% Per Annum5. Prevent and Reduce stunting in children (0-6 years) - 2% Per Annum

Strategic Initiatives and Enablers: Driving the Agenda

The Coalition has determined a strategic direction that takes into account urgent priorities, an approach informed by the learnings from recent global assessments and its own areas of strength. Four Strategic Initiatives and four Enablers will drive the direction. State chapters, national and global advisory bodies, regional platforms, patrons and mentors of the Coalition will determine the success of the strategic initiatives.

(A) Strategic InitiativesI. Sustained and Inclusive Membership Engagement: Collaborate,

convene and converge to trigger transformative actionII. Knowledge Management: Knowledge assimilation and transfer across

stakeholders including communities to fill knowledge gaps, build the nutrition narrative

III. State Accountability to SDGs and WHA Targets IV. Evidence Based Advocacy: Set the agenda, validate and influenceV. Catalyse Behaviour Change: Change narratives, influence thinking, and

raise awareness for healthy diet, address myths and misconceptions

(B) Strategic Enablers1. Network and Alliance Model 2. Working Group Model3. Action Research Model4. Technology and Innovation

(A) Strategic Initiative I: Sustained and Inclusive Membership Engagement The Coalition will deepen its existing engagement with the government as a technical and subject matter expert. We will bring together civil society networks, elected representatives, academia and socially responsible business leaders to create a shared space dedicated to delivering on the promise of a zero hunger and well-nourished nation. Our advocacy and campaign work plan will be guided by the strategic consideration that parliaments through their legislative, oversight, budget approval and representation duties could play a catalytic role. Given the multidimensionality of hunger and malnutrition, only an interlinked plan where resources and expertise are pooled in together, would work. Strategic partners: Parliamentarians and legislators, State governments, champions and thought leaders

Implementation partner: Relevant networks working on parliamentarian advocacyAudience: Policy and decision makers, elected representativesRole of the Coalition: Facilitate the multi stakeholder collaboration and ensure a platform for best practice sharing and knowledge exchange amongst members.

Strategic initiative II: Knowledge Management We will aggregate knowledge to build a strong nutrition narrative. We will work with members and strategic partners to harness existing research and evidences. Nutrition champions from the community will work as knowledge managers. We will also focus on building research and documentation capacities of the civil society. The objective will be to build a repository of empirical data and at the same time an empowered and active community of knowledge workers. We feel that the call for a data revolution is not just about disaggregated data. It also about handing over the ownership to the community. Our approach to building an evidence pipeline is therefore designed to address the structural causes of food insecurity. An operations research approach will enable course corrections to ensure impact is achieved and studied. The Coalition based on the request of the national and state governments can facilitate or manage food and nutrition resource centers. Strategic partners: Parliamentarians and legislators, State governmentsImplementation partner: Relevant networks working on parliamentarian advocacyAudience: Policy and decision makers, elected representatives Role of the Coalition: Act as a one-point repository of knowledge across shortlisted focus areas. Create a Knowledge Management portal. Support advocacy initiatives of members across states.

Strategic Initiative III: State Accountability to SDGs and WHA Targets The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. India has committed to meet these 17 interconnected goals,

including those on hunger. In addition, as a WHO Member State, India has also endorsed global targets for improving maternal, infant and young child nutrition and is committed to monitoring progress. These

WHA targets1. 40% reduction in child

stunting2. 50% reduction in Anaemia

in women3. 30% reduction in low birth

weight4. No increase in child

overweight5. Increase rate of exclusive

World Health Assembly (WHA) targets are to be achieved by 2025. There are plans to possibly extend the deadline to 2030, with more ambitious targets set in harmony with the SDGs. Strategic partners: Central and state government agencies, parliamentarians, media and networksImplementation partner: The Coalition members and partnersAudience: Policy and decision makers and parliamentarians Role of the Coalition:

Seek accountability on the progress to meet SDG and WHA goals from the government.

Set state-level targets based on SDGs and WHA targets, and to develop a strong participatory monitoring framework and management information system to measure outcomes of targets under SDGs and WHA.

Provide technical support in highly vulnerable districts on developing multi-sectoral food and nutrition plan.

Strategic Initiative IV: Evidence Based Advocacy Our national strategies and programmes will be guided by evidence based agenda setting. Through steady dissemination of evidence and knowledge sharing, we hope to generate will and accountability across decision makers, percolating through the layers of governance. The Coalition, with its strong backing of its members, research and academia, is in a strong position to gather evidences.

We will work with NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister’s Office, and all relevant Ministries, State Chief Ministers, State Departments and political parties across party line to train the focus of all policies on nutrition. Aid and domestic financing of food and nutrition interventions are not adequate to resource this political ambition. Inadequate government funding for public programs is a major challenge in fighting malnutrition in the country. The Coalition purports to engage in budget advocacy and influence the policy makers to allocate more money into its food and nutrition programs. One of our key strategies will be to advocate for the revival and reform of the ICDS – considered as a foolproof and holistic approach to early child development and nutrition. We will work with the government and other stakeholders to promote and facilitate strong convergences across ministries, sectors and locally across district departments, ration shops, schools, panchayats and enforcement. Data is an important toolStrategic partners: Food and WASH departments at the district level, district magistrates’ office, local governance mechanism, elected representatives, private sector and media, UN, INGOs and donors with a presence.

Implementation partner: Local NGO partner, academic/research institution, health workers, community volunteersAudience: Policy and decision makers, citizensRole of the Coalition:

Identity opportunities for new legislations and programmatic interventions both at Centre and State level.

Reform of existing policies and budget advocacy Provide actionable recommendations through generation and analysis of data

and evidence. Participate in government forums, meetings and other engagements Advocate with all relevant stakeholders in driving successful nutritional

outcomes including media, CFNS members, education and development organizations.

Strategic Initiative V: Catalyse Behaviour Change There is enough evidence linking improved food and nutrition status with sustained information, awareness and guidance. We will work to develop a strong narrative on food and nutrition that is directly linked to well being, life, productivity and economic gain. There is enough evidence to link feeding practices, frequency, nutrient density to growth and development. A critical window of opportunity to ensure optimal child growth is between pregnancy to the second year of life. Growth faltering is most evident during this phase when foods of low nutrient density begin to replace breast milk and rates of diarrhea illness caused by food contamination are at their highest. After about two years of age, it is very difficult to reverse stunting that occurred at earlier ages. The main concern during this intense phase is how to optimise feeding practices and behaviours through interventions. Lancet studies have shown that even as availability of nutritious food, provision of complementary feeding have the maximum impact, presence of education and counselling is critical for the efficacy and effectiveness of food interventions. We will work in high risk communities such as hunger hot spots or areas with high incidence of SAM to work on behaviour and practices. We will work through our NGO partners to create social will and change behaviours in the community. Going forward, the Coalition will engage with the media proactively. To this end our working groups and coordination team will put together a media and campaign strategy. There will be particular emphasis on the use of social media, television media and digital communication to popularise the nutrition narrative.

Strategic partners: Local, regional and national media, private sector, state level UN offices and other INGOs,

Implementation partner: Local NGO partner, local mediaAudience: Policy makers, political leaders and Community leadersRole of the Coalition:

Build repository on formative research and cognitive mapping. Document evidences and breakthrough research. Organise consultations and initiate community level campaigns

promoting healthy behavior and practices and promote study on nutritive value of local foods.

Campaign across platforms and build capacities of the SHGs, champions and Change Leaders to bring about behavioural changes in the community.

(B) Strategic EnablersOur strategic enablers are our operating models which will drive the goals and initiatives. 1. Network and Alliance Model: Aligning with strong and active inclusive members’ network will be key to creating a larger momentum. Current engagement with individual and institutional members will have to be ramped up and refined to successfully deliver on the activities planned under key initiatives. The Coalition will conduct a landscape mapping to explore partnerships, alignment with key networks across key thematic and functional areas similar to that of working group. 2. Working Group Model: The Coalition has a full-fledged strategy and operating model for working groups on eight important themes and functions There eight working groups are Essential Nutrition Interventions (ENIs), Food Security, Water Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH), Socially Responsible Business, Human Resource Development, Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), Accountability and Governance, Rights, Gender and Equity. Depending upon the need and relevance working groups on other thematic and functional areas like Climate Change, Disaster Management, Accountability on SDG & WHA target etc. can be constituted. These working groups are ‘theatres of action’ which will enrich all the activities that we undertake. 3. Action Research Model: We will start impact oriented Action Research Projects in malnutrition (stunting more than 40% and wasting more than 15%) and disaster prone districts and hotspots to achieve following targets by 2025.

• Child stunting- cut the number by 40%• Child wasting- to less than 5%• Anemia- cut anemia in women of reproductive age by 50%

4. Technology and innovation: Innovation is considered to be a new form of social practice. A more recent description of innovation recognizes that capabilities are important in design, management and entrepreneurship as well as in research, and that innovation in forms of social practice, as well as in technologies, is relevant. Furthermore, there is a big role to be played by science, technology and innovation in ensuring Sustainable Development

Goals by 2030.

In today’s changing world, digital technology has created its own space with a better access and acceptability then many other means of communication and providing a new solution to tenured issues. Digital empowerment has a special role in raising awareness about rights and entitlements allowing a choice to demand form better governance and accountability. We will work on special innovative projects using digital media and appropriate technologies which will result in bringing rapid growth in many key indicators making the project a model for scale up and replication. Projects related to women empowerment; creating a cadre of women change leaders could be materialised through digital empowerment programmes.

There is an urgent need for reliable data from the sub national level and here the civil society must play a critical role on data aggregation. To ensure a steady stream of live data, we will work with technology innovation projects

to create easy-to-use digital tools for IT enabled monitoring. The

advancement of the Internet has paved the way for the development of new services for next-generation monitoring systems to enable superior

communication and optimise data collection process. IT enabled monitoring is a more accurate and efficient data management process and Government of India is also adopting such methodologies for better data management and programme evaluation. Coalition will work on innovative projects on IT enabled monitoring with user friendly apps to create an ecosystem to support automatic program monitoring with an innovative approach to reduce labor and collect high-quality runoff data.

Coalition will also be interested to undertake special innovation projects of creating a knowledge network of digital practitioners with a database of their innovations and interventions which will create a specific ecosystem of solutions for developmental needs. We will work on pilot initiatives for multi sectoral engagement for improving health and nutrition status of women and children in selected states, districts and blocks.

This will be in collaboration with multiple stakeholders and backed by academic and technical institutes to show pathways for scale up and replication/mainstreaming. As a public interest Coalition, we will play the social watch role to bring out issues through India Nutrition Report, fact finding missions, and reports/white paper on issues that affect public interest.

Strategic Framework for Change

Strategic Enablers and Initiatives

Theory of Change for Scalable ImpactOur theory of change focusses on the dual strategy of creating an empowered and active community who are in control of the food they eat and produce and influencing a community of informed policy makers who will make technically sound choices, zealously upholding a sustainable and people first food and nutrition programme. Our goals and key result areas are all inclusive since we believe that now is the time for an exhaustive and all-encompassing approach. Our path to a transformative agenda will depend in equal parts on making the right connections and working with individuals. As a coalition our action plan will take into account a wide network of partners who have deep connections with the community across states of India. Hence our strategic objectives are designed keeping in mind that all our interventions will have to be connected from the bottom to top. Based on recommendations that have surfaced in our consultations we will be concentrating on creating quick impact in a few critical areas. Since change is scarcely continuous, we will be looking at windows of opportunity such as the current political focus on the Nutrition Mission, ICDS reforms and Food and Nutrition Security Act. Our ability to engage with the government and policy makers across party lines is a strength, we will maximize our advocacy deliverables.

Organisation StructureBoard and GovernanceThe Governing Board and leadership team will provide guidance, mentorship and strategic direction to the strategy implementation process. The strategy outlines high level of influence and engagement for a sustained outcome. The Governing Board members will support political positioning and agenda setting, conflict resolution and provide strategic leadership in defining the internal and external governance processes to ensure value for money and mitigation of risks.

Working groups The working groups are ‘theatres of action’ to develop culture and country specific evidence based knowledge management products and models, policy briefs and to generate a public discourse on key themes, functions and sectors. The existing 8 working groups will be further strengthened. The working group members will come up with recommendations on specific topics. After inputs from WG members, the chairperson will be responsible for final sign off and will put it forward to the Coalition management.

State CoalitionsGoing forward, the Coalition should plan for state level interventions to cater to state-specific needs. The State Coalitions will engage in evidence based advocacy and contribute to knowledge management by regularly sharing state level information and data. We plan to set up 3 state chapter per year. In line with the Coalition strategy on 2014, 10 states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Assam will be prioritized for State Coalition.

Figure 2: Proposed organisation structure of the Coalition

Governing Board

Executive Director

Membership Engagement

Unit

Knowledge Management

State Accountability

to SDGs & WHA taregts

Advocacy and Communication Unit

Working Groups Partner Network

Resource mobilisation

Finance, Administration,

Operations

General Body

State Coalitions & Action Research

Patrons and Mentors

Social Behavior Change Unit

Advisory Bodies- Global and National

Network and Alliance

Strategic Initiatives

Financial Plan & Funding StrategyAs part of this exercise, a detailed estimate of the next 5 year funding requirement of the Coalition has been prepared and a funding strategy has been detailed out. General principles for the funding strategy include:

The Coalition should not be seen to be competing for funds and resources with members

The Coalition should avoid any activity that leads to a situation of conflict of interest with its member organizations. Such differences must be resolved collectively before approving or disapproving a funding source (e.g. role of private sector fundraising)

The Coalition would diversify the donor base to explore the possibility of the donor’s interest to support any specific activity, state coalition, initiative and/or enabler. Customised project proposals can be developed in line with the program requirement. The Coalition has a full-fledged office having a core team. The Coalition’s funding will be guided by its fund raising strategy. Primarily, the Coalition will look for a value based and public interest oriented donor for institutional funding and mentorship. The Coalition will explore funding from these 8 sources.

Members and Partners Global foundations Bilateral and multilateral organizations Companies/Public Sector (CSR) Indian foundations (including personal giving by high net-worth

individuals) Indian Diaspora organizations Faith-based organizations Government- national and state

The Coalition will raise resources from its members to support the working group, state coalition and other programs on an ongoing basis. Apart from grants, revenue generating options including technical consulting, conference sponsorships, membership fee, etc. will also be explored.

Risk Management:

The Coalition recognized the following risks in the implementation of its strategy:1. Low network enrollmentOne of the biggest challenges of the Coalition will be to serve as an inclusive platform for multiple networks and members. Various organisations and networks, formed on the basis of different ideologies and ethical considerations, may perceive a conflict with the Coalition’s mandate.

2. Inadequate membership engagement / member participationIt will be critical to ensure member engagement and participation especially during the initial years of the Coalition in order to efficiently perform activities and deliver on the mandate. The Coalition will need to adequately manage conflict of interests that might arise among members leading to weak overall participation.

3. Insufficient funding and Political positioning minimizing donor baseAbsence of secured institutional funding, particularly during very initial phase of institution building of the Coalition is critical. The Coalition will need institutional funding right at the inception phase of this revised strategy. The funding should be for at least five years of execution of its activities and to stabilize itself as an organisation. Any shortfalls in meeting its funding requirements might prevent the Coalition from successfully fulfilling its stated objectives. The Coalition’s position on key issues pertaining to on food and nutrition security may conflict with resource agencies, members and donors.

4. Low priority / lack of government receptiveness Lack of government receptivity to issues related to food and nutrition security can undermine the Coalition efforts, given the fact that advocacy will continue to remain one of the key primary activities of the Coalition. Moreover, bureaucratic transferability may result in key government stakeholders with whom the Coalition has developed strategic relationships being moved to ministries and departments different from those relevant to the Coalition – thereby undermining the Coalition efforts. Finally, any instability in government such as recurring or mid-term elections at the center or in states where the Coalition is participating may be detrimental to the Coalition efforts and impact.

Mitigation Measures

The Coalition will voluntarily accept some well calculated risk in order to generate superior returns/strategic advantages from its strategy. Strategy risks are quite different from preventable risks because they are not inherently undesirable. A strategy with high expected returns generally requires the Coalition to take on significant risks, and managing those risks is a key driver in capturing the potential gains. The Coalition will play a catalytic role and take positions based on sound scientific evidences that have larger public interest implications. Hence, adequate enrolment of network membership will be critical for the Coalition to conduct its activities going forward. Also, in order to ensure efficient functioning of proposed working groups’ adequate strength of membership will be critical. The Coalition will need to ensure adequate efforts towards ramping up its member enrollment process. The Coalition will engage in strategic communication with influential voices, policy makers, champions and donors. Strategically, the Coalition will look for ethical Indian donor having public interest orientation. The appointment of patrons and mentors, global and national advisory bodies having eminent voices will work as Coalition ambassadors to amplify the voice. Of course, the transparent financial management system and due diligence process will minimise risk to a great extent.

Conclusion

The Coalition serves as a unique platform bringing together key stakeholders to advocate for improved nutrition policies and programs in India. Over the last 10 years, the Coalition has undertaken multiple initiatives in promoting food and nutrition security in India. Members believe the Coalition has huge potential to play a critical role in promoting food and nutrition security in India. The Coalition will continue this mandate expanding its membership base and building inclusive platforms at public space.

Appendix 1

Highlights of Proposed Activities:Strategic Initiative I: Sustained and inclusive Membership Engagement

Activity Function Outcome

Citizens, health workers and SHGs mobilized as food and nutrition defenders

Promote food and nutrition champions and women change leaders

States recognise and introduce Change Leaders as hunger and malnutrition fighters

Build and align with Multi-stakeholder platforms in the public space

Detailed mapping of partner network, alliance, membership engagement strategyLarger number of civil society networks and strategic alliances get

Civil society collaborates with the government as interlocutor of people’s issues and knowledge partner

Nutrition Parliament- National: Parliamentarians and legislators for Collective Actions

Parliamentary Group on Nutrition established Campaigns, media engagement on key issues Interface between civil society and parliamentarians

i)Set the Institutional Arrangement right: Increase political will for national mission, convergence mechanisms ii) Food and Nutrition in Election Manifestos iii) Food and Nutrition standing committee established

Regional leadership in amplifying southern voice

National and Global Advisory Bodies to champion food and nutrition agendaRegional and national consultations, develop strategic partnership with key bodies

i) Southern narrative from India tabled at global and regional forums. ii)Strategic Alliance with SAARC, SAFANSI, LANSA, Zero Hunger Challenge etc. with evidence backed analysis from the

field

Social watch functions – to strengthen accountability

Work with State Food/Food and Nutrition Commissions, Fact finding teams on key public interest issues and publish such as fact finding reports. Support to network members on evidences and global knowledge.

i) Human rights defenders are protectedii) Malnutrition death is viewed as a crime against humanityiii) Public accountability strengthened

Strategic Initiative II: Knowledge Management Activity Function Outcome

Publish India Nutrition Report and Shadow report on nutrition - Changing food and nutrition narratives

Global and in country data, evidences on hunger mitigation models analysed. Indicators developed taking into account micronutrient deficiencies, NCD, obesity etc. analysed and framed.

The data is used for informed decisions and choices. Healthy competition is increased among the states

Technical support: Decentralized bottom up planning and monitoring

Participatory planning and monitoring: Local government integrate food and nutrition agenda, Micro level Planning and Social Audit modules developed. Generate demand for a new agriculture policy focusing on dryland agriculture.

i) Functional village health nutrition and sanitation day (VHNSD)- Improved convergence and monitoringii) Social audit is mandated in PDS, ICDS and aspects of dryland agriculture.

Revitalise Working Groups as a theatre of action for developing

Working group meetings, policy roundtables: Briefs

i) Sustainable and tested products and models developed to improve food

Knowledge products and position papers published

and nutrition delivery.ii) Global and in country evidences on hunger mitigation models

Structural barriers studied and analysed and benchmarks of good governance and collaboration established

Participatory planning, research and study to understand various forms of exclusion, diluted accountability and underlying/structural causes

i) Benchmarks of good governance and collaboration establishedii) Local governments integrate models, tools and processes

Public debates are fostered to write up on hard issues : RUTF, GM Food, Food Fortification, Food Safety

Generate debate: Policy roundtable, consultations and interfaces, media debates

A unified approach to evidence based advocacy: Stakeholder and Message alignment increased

Establishment of Food and Nutrition Resource Center

Prepare business plan and establish resource centers that can be a center of excellence to provide ongoing support on food and nutrition outcomes

A center of excellence on food and nutrition established

Technical support on resource management

Develop perspective plan on effective management of resources

Value for money is realized

Innovative projects to create easy-to-use digital tools for IT enabled monitoring

IT enabled monitoring, optimize data collection process on data aggregation

Automatic program monitoring with an innovative reliable approach to reduce labor and collect high-quality runoff data

Special project on creating knowledge network of digital practitioners

Expanded peer learning scope on the use of technology for solution

New solutions for developmental needs to reduce malnutrition creating benchmarks for

scale up and replication

Strategic Initiative III: State Accountability to SDGs and WHA Targets Activity Function Outcome

Convene working groups to develop knowledge products to support awareness building on the state of the World Health Assembly (WHA) targets and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Work as knowledge aggregator to develop and collate knowledge products. Align with POSHAN and other knowledge organisaions to aggregate knowledge.

Knowledge products on State specific SMART targets and gap analysis.

Support awareness building/ policy roundtable on the state of the World Health Assembly (WHA) targets and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for food and nutrition.

a)National and state consultations and policy roundtables with involvement of key policy makers and political leaders b) Align with multi stakeholder platforms around SDG/WHA targets

Stakeholder and message alignment for a unified efforts on SDG/WHA targets

Commitment and Action on achieving Health and Nutrition Targets of SDGs and WHA

Collaborate to prepare state accountability framework and status report. Policy roundtable

i)States mandate to mainstream and achieve targetsii) State Food and nutrition n plans developed with SMART indicatorsiii) NRCs established in all immediate Panchayat area.

Technical support on realizing SDG Goals and WHA targets

i) Establish technical support Unit in relevant Departments in few statesii) Build capacities of the state functionaries on setting SMART targets, measurement and monitoring

i) Technical support unit in designated states are established.ii) States set targets and conduct ongoing monitoring and evaluation of targets and food and nutrition outcomes.

District MULTI-SECTORAL RESULT based Food and Nutrition Plan

Technical support to develop the result based plan and programming in high vulnerable districts

Alignment and ownership of district administration to the plan and allocation of

in line with WHA target to reduce stunting, wasting and anaemia

dedicated resources.

Pilot initiative for multi sectoral engagement for improving health and nutrition status of women and children

System strengthening for improved accountability, governance, convergence and access, generating community demand, social behavior chance communication, knowledge management

i) Improved access to safe and nutritious food and key health and nutrition services and supplies through strengthening systemii) Sustainable improvement in the nutrition and health status of women and children

Strategic Initiative IV: Evidence Based Advocacy Activity Function Outcome

ICDS reforms i)Generate debate: Food and Nutrition as a public good Research on institutional arrangements on food and nutrition, drafting of the reformed policy, and advocacy campaigns, policy roundtables to bring structural changes of Anganwadi centers into crèches. ii) Generate discussion for integration of ICDS and PDS for effective supplies of essential commodities through wage employment programmes (MGNREGA). iii) Generate demand for hot cooked meals from locally available nutrition food materials and eradicate social stigmas through awareness generation and necessary law enforcement

i)Reduced undernutrition: Improvements in early childhood indicators ii) States establish Department of Food and Nutrition/ Project Directorate – Nutrition/State Food and Nutrition Resource Centreiii) District level action plans reflect convergence across departments: Improved synergy and convergence of the district administration and gram panchayats.iv) Pre-school education experts and nutritionists are appointed under WCD department

Legislative reforms: Comprehensive regulation on food and nutrition: A new National Food and Nutrition Security Act

Generate debate: food and nutrition as a public good, drafting of the reformed regulation, sharing of global evidences, advocacy campaigns, research on food safety and regulatory measures

i)New and improved legislation with accountability and improved food safety, entitlements and access ii) Exclusion is minimisediii)Food and Nutrition Commission, State Food Commissions and District and below grievances mechanisms established

Ready to scale models of zero hunger and malnutrition

Action research projects in 2 hotspots addressing chronic emergencies.

Demonstrable evidence based learnings and data on nutrition interventions, innovations that work for replication across contexts

Mainstream Nutrition in Nutrition focused and sensitive programs

Policy, landscape and stakeholder analysis, develop policies and strategies, advocacy

Nutrition is mainstreamed in Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, National Rural Livelihoods Missions, agriculture, disaster and emergencies, CSR guidelines, Ministry of Industry, labour and other flagship programs.

New policy on Climate Smart nutrition sensitive Agri-nutrition

Share climate and food vulnerability report. document best practices, amplify voices, work on minor millets, naturally bio-fortified crops and policy changes in MGNREGA to promote bio fortified crops

i)Diversified food and farming systemii) Protein hunger is minimizediii) National Genetic grid of bio-fortified crops is promotediv) Minimum support price of millet- Double that of the price of rice v) States establish Millet Mission/Bio fortification Mission

New National Policy on Mainstreaming Sustainable Food and Nutrition

Policy roundtables in partnerships with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National

i) Sphere guideline is revised with SMART targets

Security in Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) programmes

Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), State Disaster Management Authorities and networks

ii) Special impact oriented Action Research Projects in High Burden malnutrition and disaster prone districts and hotspots.

Change narrative: Policies on bio safety, Climate smart-nutrition sensitive agriculture, Control- anemia, micronutrient malnutrition, Obesity and overweight

Document evidences, develop position papers, engage with key researchers and policy makers, policy roundtables. Advocate nationally representative micronutrient survey

i) Biosafety authority is establishedii) Reduced Protein Hunger, Hidden Hunger, obesity and overweight: Diversify farm and production system

Nutrition Financing: Nutrition becomes a top investment priority: Higher allocation to both direct and indirect nutrition programs

Work on Nutrition Financing: Study, develop repository, research and consultations

Investment in nutrition focused and nutrition sensitive programs increased. Few states initiate special budget on nutrition

Comprehensive policy to address micronutrient malnutrition

Document evidences and breakthrough research on supplementation, food fortification, bio fortification and dietary diversification. Bring out policy papers. Advocate nationally representative micronutrient survey

i)Stakeholder and message alignment on food fortificationii) Comprehensive policy and strategy with multi-pronged approach

Comprehensive policy on anaemia reduction

i)National Strategy on women’s nutrition, Document evidences and breakthrough researchii)Cutting-edge research to find out the correlations between gender based violence and stunting and low birth weight babies

i)Increase access to key food and nutrition services and supplies by the womenii) Reduced gender based violenceiii) New policy on anaemia to address all potential causes of anaemia

Comprehensive policy on reducing wasting and growth faltering

Document evidences and breakthrough research. Bring out policy papers. Stakeholder and message alignment on NRC, RUTF

i)Stakeholder and message alignment on SAM children management

Comprehensive policy on reducing adult overweight and obesity

Work on Policy on management of obesity and overweight, develop fact sheets and evidences. Support food and nutrition index study.

i)Ban on Trans fats and introduction of sugary taxes ii) National policy on management of obesity and overweightiii) Country fact sheet on food and nutrition index developed.

Enforce Schedule VII of CSR ACT which refers to inclusion of activities related to eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition

Participate in Government of India CSR Fair and influence agenda. Organise policy roundtables on CSR- Food and Nutrition. Align with business networks to influence CSR policy

CSR funding on food and nutrition is increased.

Strategic Initiative V: Catalyse Social Behaviour ChangeActivity Function Outcome

Suggest Multiple Pathways to Behavior Change: Strategy, framework, operational tools and guidelines

Build repository on formative research and cognitive mapping. Develop strategy, products and briefs - organise consultations, prioritise actions on home contacts and interpersonal counselling

Strategy and evidences mainstreamed - increased home contact, age appropriate complementary feeding and breastfeeding

A behaviour change and awareness campaign - Suposhit Abhiyaan

Community level campaigns, capacity building of nutrition workers, Special programs with Street Vendor Association, Trade Unions on food safety and hygiene,

Women aware and empowered, myths and misconceptions dispelled

Technical support: Promote study on nutritive Awareness regarding

Mapping of nutritious food and develop Food index

value of local foods various nutritive values of food crops.

Technical support: Building capacities: on Healthy and safe food behaviour

Capacity building of SHGs, champions and Change Leaders, Awareness regarding appropriate complementary feeding during 6-24 months along with breast feeding, feeding during illness

Adoption of healthy and good nutrition behaviour

Special projects on women empowerment using digital media

Awareness building through digital media, increased demand form better governance and accountability

i) Cadre of women change leaders created ii) Substantial growth in many key indicators

Partnership with Media and Communication channels to share member’s stories, evidences and best practices

Evidence based media advocacy, mainstream campaign across platforms

Food and Nutrition narrative mainstreamed with increased awareness and informed choices