Cover image: © UNICEF/UNI843239

The goals of the learning programme are to:

  1. Build skills, knowledge and confidence to engage with public finance for children - nutrition: shaping leaders who are equipped with timely and relevant knowledge and tools to develop and implement planning, advocacy and programming related to PF4C-N across multiple systems, so they are able to engage in policy dialogue and design and implement programming activities aimed at translating sector strategies into budget allocations and effective spending; and
  2. Contribute effectively to the strengthening of the national budgetary frameworks and PFM systems for nutrition in the health, social protection, food and education systems, to sustain and scale up overall programme results, particularly for the most vulnerable children and their families.

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Interpret key concepts in main policy or political discourses or processes related to public finance in multiple nutrition-relevant sectors (health, social protection, food and education)
  • Connect the dots to detect signs of PFM-related barriers to results in nutrition in multiple sectors
  • Draft terms of reference to further investigate the PFM situation and challenges in multiple sectors and identify solutions
  • Engage effectively in budget processes through the budget cycle via well-timed and evidence-informed PF4C-N interventions as well as mapping of key actors/powers and partners in multiple sectors
  • Craft high-level communication messages to raise awareness or alerts on issues with clear-cut or potentially significant implications for nutrition, using expenditure analysis tools.

Audience

  • UNICEF staff and those interested in advancing the nutrition agenda across multiple systems and understanding how public financing can be used to achieve this. 
  • UNICEF staff who are interested in further study in this area may also enroll in the Global Public Finance for Children Course.

The course content incorporates illustrations and cases from all UNICEF regions. People wishing to take a course with illustrations and case studies that focus on Asia and the Pacific and contains only the core public finance and health system modules may wish to enroll for this course (Public Finance for Children - Nutrition (PF4C-N) in Asia and the Pacific).

Length

Each module should take you approximately 1 – 1.5 hours to complete. We expect that the entirety of the course will therefore take between 15 and 20 hours to complete, depending on your unique work style and pace.

Methodology

This is an asynchronous self-paced course – you can choose to take it all in one day, over a week or during a longer period of time.

Structure

The content of the course is presented in 13 interactive modules and 3 budget cycle practice chapters:

  1. Situating the PF4C-N Learning Programme
  2. Budget Cycle Entry Points for Nutrition
  3. Costing Nutrition Plans and Interventions
  4. Fiscal Space for Nutrition
  5. Budget and Expenditure Tracking
  6. Decentralisation
  7. Investment Cases and Value for Money in Nutrition
  8. Equity to Improve Nutrition Outcomes
  9. Universal Health Coverage and Nutrition
  10. Social Protection for Improved Nutrition Outcomes
  11. Food Systems for Improved Nutrition Outcomes
  12. Nutrition in the Education System
  13. Nutrition and Climate Financing

Budget Cycle Practice Chapters:

  1. Budget Advocacy for Nutrition
  2. Planning and Budget Formulation for Improved Nutrition Outcomes
  3. How to improve Budget Execution & Accountability for Nutrition

Contact details

Content issues and questions: contact@childnutritionfund.org

Acknowledgements

The first nine modules of this course were developed by the Nutrition and Social Policy Sections at the UNICEF East Asia & Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) and were updated by UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office and Genesis Analytics, including with new illustrations and case studies from all regions. Modules 10-13 and 3 budget cycle practice chapters were also developed by UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office and Genesis Analytics.

Lead content developers: Mueni Mutunga, Christina Popivanova, Roland Kupka and Andrea Rossi (UNICEF EAPRO); Christiane Rudert, Chloe Angood, Agnes Erzse, Bob Muchabaiwa, Margaret Irving (UNICEF ESARO); Michael Castro (UNICEF WCARO); Annalies Borrell (UNICEF HQ); Tomas Lievens, Tafara Ngwaru, Katie Bullman, Kenya Chappel, Loveness Kekana & Dennis Aliga (Genesis Analytics)

Technical contributors: Afeef Mahmoud, Helen Connolly

Instructional designers: Genesis Analytics