DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dv41ns1ww
title: Public-private partnerships in nutrition specific interventions in Eastern Mediterranean Region countries

description: Introduction: Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in public health have
 been widely promoted as an effective tool for accelerating progress toward
 achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
 including SDG 2 “to eliminate hunger.” At the global level,
 partnership with the private sector was found to be very instrumental in
 improving the nutritional status of poor and food-insecure people,
 promoting healthy lifestyle, and developing initiatives to prevent
 childhood obesity. In countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR),
 PPPs in nutrition actions has been mainly driven by UN and International
 development agencies to support low and middle -income countries in
 achieving better health outcomes. Despite the increased prominence of
 engaging the private sector in public health actions in countries of the
 EMR, the evidence on the role of the private sector in the
 design/implementation of these actions is still not documented.
 Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the role and
 contribution of the private sector in the design/ implementation of
 nutrition- specific interventions addressing the double burden of
 malnutrition in countries from the EMR and identifying the key factors for
 successful PPP implementation. Methods: The study design was descriptive
 using secondary data obtained from digital internet sources, including WHO
 databases, grey literature, and websites of UN and International
 development agencies.  Results: The desk review revealed that the
 private sector has played a sizable role in the implementation of food
 fortification initiatives and in the implementation of nutritional
 policies promoting healthy diets. The experience of the Region shows the
 significant impact of government commitment, and the availability of
 national policies and systems for monitoring and enforcement on the
 sustainability and effectiveness of PPPs specific nutrition interventions.
 Conclusion: The study emphasizes the key actions recommended for the
 governments to enhance the application of PPPs as a tool to accelerate the
 EMR countries’ progress toward achieving the nutrition targets under SDG 2
 by 2030.
description: The data on the
 role /contribution of the private sector, and the challenges encountered
 in the implementation of specific nutrition interventions across EMR
 countries was collated through a comprehensive literature review from
 various sources, including WHO databases, grey literature, specific
 reports on nutrition actions published by WHO and other UN agencies and
 websites of UN and International development agencies.
 The WHO e-library of
 Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA), and the WHO Global database on the
 implementation of nutrition actions (GINA), was used as the main reference
 to build the initial list of nutrition policies, strategies, and actions
 for each of the 22 EMR countries. The initial list was
 then narrowed down to include only specific nutrition actions/
 interventions that were implemented in partnership with at least one
 private for-profit organization.