The minimum cost of the 10 years on identified nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions of the National Food and Nutrition Strategy in Ethiopia is estimated to be US$ 2.55bn with an average annual cost of $250 million over 10 years (2021–2030), which is only 2.3% of the Ethiopian Annual GDP 111.27 billion US dollars in 2021 (World bank). The costs of the Lancet series interventions are US$ 1.7 billion (66%) of the total cost of the strategy).
Abstract
The Ethiopia Food and Nutrition Strategy (FNS 2021–2030) aims to provide evidence-based, nutrition-specific, and sensitive interventions to address malnutrition. A costing exercise was done to estimate the minimum financing needed to implement nutrition interventions for the ten-year FNS, and further analysis was made to estimate the investment required to implement the prioritised recommended Lancet series interventions for 10 years. Activity-based costing methodology was used to carry out the FNS costing for nutrition interventions prioritised by the different line ministries, and then estimated costs to implement the 2021 recommended Lancets interventions were examined from the FNS. The minimum cost of implementing the National FNS was estimated to be US$ 2.55bn with an average annual cost of US$ 250 million over 10 years (2021–2030). The cost of nutrition-sensitive approaches represents US$ 1.8 billion (72%) and nutrition-specific US$ 704 million (28%) of the total cost of the FNS. The Lancet series intervention costs accounted for US$ 1.7 billion (66%) of the total cost of the strategy. In this costing, half of the strong/moderate evidence (7 out of 13) Lancet interventions are costed. Therefore, the strategy’s costing should be revised every 3 years to integrate new evidence and consider lessons from real expenditure. Furthermore, the need to establish a nutrition expenditure tracking system is urgent.
Maternal &Child Nutrition, EarlyView. Read More