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Once a multisectoral nutrition plan, or MSNP (Module 2) and common results framework, or CRF (Module 3) have been developed, the information that they outline—such as strategic objectives, actions and targets across a specified timeline and for various implementing partners—will provide the details needed for a nutrition costing exercise. The CRF and MSNP will also provide the details for identifying what will be tracked and monitored financially on an ongoing basis.
Costing, financial tracking and budget analysis provide valuable insights into government allocations, expenditures and financial needs for nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. There is growing understanding of the importance of estimating the financial costs of MSNPs/CRFs and tracking the financing for nutrition interventions at the country level. It is also critical to understand the composition of this financing, particularly the budgets allocated by governments and nongovernment partners to nutrition actions across relevant sectors (health; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); education; agriculture; social protection).
 | Costing of nutrition investments at the country level is an essential step in the process of mobilising resources, whilst tracking these investments informs ongoing advocacy and helps ensure that funds are used to best effect. This module outlines some key methods for: assessing for readiness and costing an MSNP/CRF (which are crucial initial steps); assessing the financial gap for the costed plan (which can take place either during planning or inception); analysing the government’s budget for nutrition, tracking financial investments and advocating for the resources needed to fund the plan (all which take place during implementation). This does not represent a static phase, but rather, it should be revisited and reassessed throughout and alongside the initial phases for designing the MSNP and CRF, as well as the later phases for monitoring and evaluation, implementation and advocacy. It is, therefore, recommended to review this module in conjunction with Modules 2 and 3, as there are overlapping considerations and processes to keep in mind. |
MODULE 4 OUTLINE
4.1 – Assessing Readiness for Costing (EN, FR, SP)
4.2 – Estimating Costs for Nutrition Actions (EN, FR, SP)
4.3 – Conducting a Financial Gap Analysis (EN, FR, SP)
4.4 – Performing a Nutrition Budget Analysis (EN, FR, SP)
4.5 – Tracking Nutrition Financial Investments (EN, FR, SP)
4.6 – Advocating and Communicating for the Nutrition Budget (EN, FR, SP)
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Additional guidance to cost and finance nutrition
| Resources Creese A, Parker D, eds. Cost Analysis in Primary Health Care: A Training Manual for Programme Managers. Geneva: WHO; 1994. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/40030/9241544708.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. USAID. Nutrition Costing: Technical Guidance Brief. USAID: Washington, DC; 2016. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1864/Nutrition-Costing-USAID-Brief-508_0.pdf. SUN Movement Secretariat (SMS). Planning and Costing for the Acceleration of Actions for Nutrition: Experiences of Countries in the Movement for Scaling Up Nutrition. Geneva: SMS; 2014. https://scalingupnutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Final-Synthesis-Report.pdf. Save the Children. Health Sector Budget Advocacy: A Guide for Civil Society Organisations. London: Save the Children; 2012. Available at https://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2012/201205_health_sector_budget_advocacy.pdf. MQSUN. Planning and Costing to Accelerate Actions for Scaling Up Nutrition. Washington, DC: MQSUN; 2014. MQSUN briefing 03. Available at http://docs.scalingupnutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/150223-Summary-of-Synthesis-Report-MQSUN.pdf. Greenblott K. Nutrition Modeling Tools for Advocacy, Decision-Making & Costing: A Workshop to Support Adoption & Utilization. New York: The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science; 2017. https://micronutrientforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-04NutritionModelingTools-FinalReport.pdf. Tools SPRING. Nutrition Workforce Mapping Toolkit. Arlington, VA: SPRING; 2014. Available at https://www.spring-nutrition.org/publications/tools/nutrition-workforce-mapping-toolkit. Nutrition International website. Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Cost-Benefit Tool page. Available at https://www.nutritionintl.org/knowledge-centre/mms-cost-benefit-tool/. Accessed on 02 November 2020. |