Innovative budget tracking tools to tackle malnutrition

Genesis partnered with UNICEF and the SADC secretariat to conduct a comprehensive nutrition budget analysis across SADC member states with data for the period 2018 to 2022.

The project aimed to build the capacity of member states to measure and monitor nutrition expenditures, provide baseline data and develop a Nutrition Financing Tracking Tool to benchmark and monitor future investments.

In the SADC region, malnutrition is worsened by economic challenges, climate change and geopolitical tensions. Despite the importance of nutrition for economic growth, public funding remains low and reliance on external aid is high. Effective resource tracking is essential for transparency and policy implementation, yet nutrition is rarely identifiable in public budgets, and capacity development is required for stakeholders to identify nutrition expenditure.

Genesis developed the user-friendly SADC Nutrition Financing Tracking Tool to monitor this and an interactive dashboard to visualise the findings on a publicly accessible platform.

The project resulted in a regional report and the tracking tool, both presented and endorsed by SADC ministers for regional implementation in October 2023. This endorsement marked a significant milestone for the region, demonstrating political momentum for increased nutrition investment.