State capacity and malnutrition: a critical analysis of capacity support to Sierra Leone’s nutrition sector

Ian Christoplos and Adam Pain

Country: Global

Date: 28/11/2014

Full summary

Sierra Leone is one of the world’s most malnourished countries. While the international community is working together with the Government of Sierra Leone to build the preventive capacities of the state, challenges remain. Through a critical analysis of capacity support to Sierra Leone’s nutrition sector, this chapter examines whether the current system is ‘fit for purpose’ by: first, highlighting what is being left out; and second, asking questions of what is actually being done. Our findings speak to the need to view capacity as a power-ladden and relational concept, rather than as something which is tangible, measurable and necessarily ‘constructable’.