Again, community participation is a means by which this can be accomplished. In Nigeria, where the formal political ideology assumes and implies mass mobilization and popular participation in development, communities are mostly involved in providing labour for various construction projects such as building schools and dispensaries, but receive little or no financial or material support from the government. If they feel that the programme is important and they share the responsibility for making it work, they will ensure that the activities are continued. Participation is important to nutrition because experience in programme planning and implementation suggests that there is no better way of fostering cost-effective programmes than by building, supporting, and implementing programmes in a participatory manner. Cost-effective programmes are those that are relevant to the needs of the community, that are consequently well received and used, and that will be sustained.
Community participation can enhance the cost-effectiveness of nutrition programmes.
However, exclusive emphasis on community participation as a means of nutritional development with no centralized planning is not an optimal strategy. Clearly, a balance must be found between the two. A means must be found of reconciling the degree of centralized organization and leadership necessary for equitable distribution of scarce resource and the implementation of large-scale efforts with the full local participation and responsibility that are essential to equitable programmes. Some of these factors are more effectively dealt with through centrally planned policies, and some have been successfully dealt with through community initiative and action. Organizational factors also affect participation.