Attachments
WHAT IS A NUTRITION CAUSAL ANALYSIS (NCA)?
A nutrition causal analysis (NCA) is a method for analysing the multicausality of under-nutrition, as a starting point for improving the relevance and effectiveness of multi-sectoral nutrition security programming in a given context.
Though there is an increasing global convergence around a well-defined package of ‘essential’ nutrition actions, implementing ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions without attention to the barriers and opportunities inherent to a specific context will often hinder the uptake and impact of any standard intervention.
The UNICEF conceptual framework on the causes of under-nutrition was developed in 1990 to identify and clarify the causes of under-nutrition. Though it was an essential contribution to highlighting the multi-factorial nature of under-nutrition, it was not intended to be prescriptive of a set of universal causes of under-nutrition relevant to every population, nor was it a method of assessment(E). Rather, it provides a useful starting point for understanding the risk factors of under-nutrition in a given context, their interrelationships, and their relation to under-nutrition. As stated in the 1990 policy review: “It is important not to interpret this framework as a predictive model. Its deliberate lack of rigid limits or boundaries leaves room for different models to be developed in different contexts. The framework primarily helps in asking relevant questions in the development of such models.”