A perspective on the development and sustainability of nutrition surveillance in low-income countries

Many varied activities are encompassed by the term “nutrition(al) surveillance”. Several national surveillance systems were initiated soon after the World Food Conference in 1974, but few have lasted. Most were complex, expensive, slow to produce findings, and were eventually stopped. This paper discusses why nutrition surveillance in low-income countries is so hard to sustain, and identifies the key factors in systems which have been maintained.