National Journal of Biological Sciences (NJBS)

Authors:   Attaullah Jan ^[1], Iftikhar Alam ^[2], Rida Asif ^[3], Amna ^[4], Shakeel Ahmad ^[5],
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37605/v7i1/1

Abstract

Background: Interest in multisectoral policies has increased, particularly in lowincome and middle-income countries and efforts towards Sustainable Development Goals, with greater attention to understanding effective strategies for implementation and governance. This study had two objectives: 1) to identify the main stakeholders responsible for child and maternal nutrition during the MDGs period in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan, and 2) to explore and map the composition and structure of the nutrition component of MDGs, identifying key actors engaged in nutrition policy implementation and their patterns of relationships at the provincial level in KP. Methods: Stakeholder identification was conducted using the participatory NetMap tool. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine the structure of the actors' network relevant to child and maternal nutrition MDGs. The survey was administered to 108 respondents, producing three distinct network maps about interaction, information-seeking and decision-making patterns. The network measures of centrality, density, reciprocity and centralization were used to understand the network across the province. Results: A total of 17 stakeholders were identified, including Provincial Government (P_Gov), Planning and Development Department (P&D), Ministry of Health (MoH), Board of Investment (BoI), Population Welfare Department (PWD), Agriculture Department (AgD), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoE), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Media, Livestock, Charity Organizations, Elites, Parliament, Academia, and Political Parties. The network analysis results showed that members from MoH, P&D, NGOs, and Provincial Government were the most frequently consulted actors for interaction, information-seeking and decision-making, as they led provincial-level networks. The three networks as a whole displayed high centralization, with P&