NIPN is an initiative by the European Commission aiming to support countries in strengthening their multisectoral information systems, data analysis and communication for nutrition to better inform the strategic decisions with the goal to prevent all forms of malnutrition. From 2020 to April 2026, the NIPN initiative was co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). NIPN Phase I of implementation (2015-2021) was co-financed by the EU, the then Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
The development and coordination of the NIPN strategy and common tools was led by a Global Coordination unit, Capacity for Nutrition-NIPN (C4N-NIPN). The unit also coordinated the knowledge exchange between NIPN countries, ensured coherence with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement and other nutrition initiatives, and supported NIPN’s global visibility, with the wider aim to disseminate the NIPN approach, experiences, and lessons learnt. C4N-NIPN, hosted within Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), operated the NIPN Global Coordination unit and activities.
NIPN activities started in 2015. Until 2026, there are NIPN platforms in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Niger, Kenya, Lao PDR, Uganda and Zambia.
In Ethiopia, Niger, and Zambia, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) was responsible for delivering the technical and programme management assistance for the implementation of the platforms. In Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire Kenya, Lao PDR and Uganda, technical and programme management assistance was provided by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) until end of 2026. In Guatemala, this support was provided by the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) until the end of 2025.
NIPN partners worked under one common results framework that focuses on:
Building on NIPN country-specific experiences, C4N-NIPN Global Coordination extended its support beyond the initial network through NIPN4NIS. This mechanism assists other SUN countries without established platforms in developing their nutrition information systems through targeted technical assistance.