The nutrition policy marker (NPM) is a voluntary, qualitative reporting tool that identifies investments made with a nutrition objective or indicator within any sector. Since its introduction in 2018, members of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Donor Network (SDN) have made significant progress to adopt and report it across multisectoral investments.
When used correctly, the NPM can contribute to more and higher quality financing for nutrition. It enables donor institutions to (1) actively identify opportunities for improved nutrition mainstreaming and (2) enables both public data users and the reporting institutions themselves to track progress against nutrition commitments and hold actors accountable. USAID Advancing Nutrition has supported the SDN to pursue accurate and standardized use of the NPM to realize these two benefits since 2020.
Now, these 3 resources are available to support current and potential NPM users and advocates to communicate about what the marker is and does to a broader audience and potentially attract new NPM users.
Resource 1: Blog, “New data-driven tool shows promise to strengthen multisectoral nutrition investments for better nutrition”
Published on the SUN website on July 28, 2023, this blog explains the potential and importance of the nutrition policy marker and presents a Q&A conversation with several of the donor institutions that have already begun using the NPM. It shares insights and lessons learned through their early experiences.
Resource 2: NPM Advocacy Brief
This 2-page Advocacy Brief explains what the policy marker is, why it’s important to end malnutrition, and the benefits institutions can experience by adopting it. Donor institutions and advocacy organizations are encouraged to use this brief to advocate for increased uptake and use of the policy marker.
Resource 3: PowerPoint Presentation about the NPM
This PPT deck explains what the policy marker is, why it’s important to end malnutrition, and the benefits institutions can experience by adopting it. Donor institutions and advocacy organizations are encouraged to use this PPT to facilitate discussions about the NPM.
Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the contributions from SDN technical working group members that have piloted the marker adoption and shared the lessons articulated in these resources. TWG members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the European Union (EU), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Irish Aid (IA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
These resources were supported by USAID Advancing Nutrition, the Agency’s flagship multisectoral nutrition project. The contents are the responsibility of JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.
