Public Private Partnerships in Nutrition - Perspectives from India

Abstract

Objectives: Recently, India has witnessed an increase in the number of public private partnerships (PPP) in various areas except nutrition. This paper explores barriers to private investment in improving nutrition outcomes in India, highlights success stories and recommends areas where PPP are more acceptable Methods: A need analysis was done based on secondary literature and data review. Primary interviews were then conducted with a representation of various stakeholders from the public, private sectors and civil society. Results: The public sector is more open to industry investment in improving services than in fortified food and supplements. It was perceived that the industry's capabilities in efficient logistics, training frontline staff and effective marketing would be useful for scaling public health nutrition programs such as the Integrated Child Development Services. Transparency was quoted as the key attribute for a successful PPP. The centralized kitchen model for school lunch programs is the only partnership operating at scale across 20 states in India. Some ongoing pilots in the use of mobile phones for training and social marketing and computerized distribution systems have the potential to scale. Conclusions: The ecosystem for PPP to address the high burden of undernutrition in India has begun to take shape. There are opportunities for the telecommunication industry, warehouse and logistics providers and advertising agencies to strengthen public health nutrition programs. Further, food and nutrition industry's expertise would be helpful in implementation research, and product development.