Planning Capacity, Determinants, and Challenges of Integrating Multisectoral Nutrition into Communal Development Plans in Burkina Faso

Introduction Translating national policies into concretes actions at sub-national level is a prerequisite to scaling up interventions and ensuring an impact on the nutritional status of populations. The objective of this study was to analyze the overall process of local planning in Burkina Faso to identify factors that positively and negatively influence the process of integrating nutrition into communal development plans (CDP). Methods This was a qualitative study conducted through: (1) an analytical review of communal development plans (CDP) in ten municipalities from two regions, (2) individual interviews and focus groups with key informants and (3) a national triangulation workshop. The assessment was informed by a theoretical framework designed to determine the degree to which nutrition was integrated in the CDP, stakeholders’ capacities and resources, as well as the governance and the quality of the overall local planning process. The data were processed (transcription, coding, synthesizing) by themes using a deductive approach. Results The degree of nutrition integration in the CDP varied from one municipality to another. Despite the high prevalence of malnutrition in all municipalities, 60% of the CDP did not have a good nutrition coverage related to integration of nutrition into plans and had not planned multisectoral interventions to combat malnutrition. The main obstacles to this integration included ignorance of malnutrition by local elected officials, low planning capacity of stakeholders and scarcity of resources, insufficient participative and inclusive local planning approaches, a lack of guidelines about nutrition integration, a preference among officials to invest in physical infrastructures and obstacles related to governance. The key factors facilitating integration of nutrition included the internationalization of the local planning process, the presence of nutrition partners in the municipalities and the existence of financial prospects. Conclusion Nutrition integration in the CDP is a major challenge for Burkina Faso. However, revising or developing CDP is an opportunity to improve nutrition.