Country-led political and financial commitments to nutrition goals are widely recognized as critical to reducing malnutrition at scale. This report seeks to examine the relationship between country-level nutrition policy, implementation leadership, donor support and coordination, and nutrition outcomes at a national or subnational level. The analysis focuses on reducing the prevalence of stunting in countries targeted by the U.S. government global food and nutrition security initiative, Feed the Future. Drawing from progress of and lessons learned within the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, it furnishes recommendations for Feed the Future to improve its engagement both with SUN and with broader country-level nutrition policies and aligned resources.

This report seeks to understand whether select countries that have more fully embraced and championed the SUN strategy have also witnessed greater progress in mounting a scalable and effective response to malnutrition. It explores whether multilateral coinvestments in nutrition policy and planning, in line with SUN aims and objectives, translate into change on the ground that sustains local ownership and leadership.