South Asian Collation for Improved Nutrition (SACIN)

South Asian Collation for Improved Nutrition (SACIN)

Duration of Project: Nov 2024 – March 2026

Donors/Partners: IDRC

Project Focal Person from SDPI: Mr. Qasim Shah

Locale: Pakistan

Project Team: Qasim Shah, Dua Mobeen, Khansa Naeem, Rabia Tabassum

Program/Project Rationale and Background:

Food insecurity is on the rise in South Asian countries, causing deteriorating health and economic losses. In this backdrop, a consortium is formed between Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to generate evidence on the triple burden[1] of the malnutrition at the national and regional levels. The consortium will specifically conduct research to generate evidence on how fiscal and trade measures can be used as a tool to combat malnutrition, an approach that remains largely unexplored and therefore offers significant novelty.

Objectives:

Establish a network of organizations, policymakers, and practitioners to collaboratively address malnutrition in one of the most affected regions of the world.
Generate and use evidence to identify innovative solutions for reducing malnutrition, including stunting, wasting, and obesity at national and regional levels through fiscal and trade measures.
Support the adoption and integration of a healthy diet agenda within consortium member countries and across the broader region.

Methodology:

Systematic literature review to identify the knowledge gaps, followed by validation through consultations with public sector experts, academia and other relevant organizations.
Produce a National-Level Research Report for each consortium country, assessing the food security landscape. Along with analyzing the effectiveness of national food policies, generating research and evidence to analyze fiscal/trade measures addressing malnutrition.
Develop a Regional Synthesis Report using the country research findings, shaping the research and policy advocacy agenda at the regional level.

Expected Outcomes:

• Equip policymakers with evidence to design interventions and offer actionable recommendations to design coherent strategies that align trade and fiscal policies with public health and nutrition goals.
• Create/strengthen a national and regional Policy-Practice network bringing together researchers, policy makers, farmers, and consumer groups as well as parliamentarians, academia, and media to collaboratively improve fiscal and trade policies that support healthy diets.
• Enhanced awareness and support for the adoption of food system transformation for improved nutrition.