Multisectoral action for health in low-income and middle-income settings: how can insights from social science theories inform intragovernmental coordination efforts?
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ Global Health
Abstract
There is consensus in global health on the need for multisectoral action (MSA) to address many contemporary
development challenges, but there is limited action. Examples of issues that require coordinated MSA include
the determinants of health conditions such as nutrition (malnutrition and obesity) and chronic non-communicable
diseases. Nutrition, tobacco control and such public health issues are regulated separately by health, trade and
treasury ministries. Those issues need to be coordinated around the same ends to avoid conflicting policies.
Despite the need for MSA, why do we see little progress? We investigate the obstacles to and opportunities for
MSA by providing a government perspective. This paper draws on four theoretical perspectives, namely (1) the
political economy perspective, (2) principal–agent theory, (3) resource dependence theory and (4) transaction cost
economics theory. The theoretical framework provides complementary propositions to understand, anticipate and
prepare for the emergence and structuring of coordination arrangements between government organisations at the
same or different hierarchical levels. The research on MSA for health in low/middle-income countries needs to
be interested in a multitheory approach that considers several theoretical perspectives and the contextual factors
underlying coordination practices.
Description
Keywords
Multisectoral action, Nutrition, middle-income settings, intragovernmental
Citation
Ssennyonjo A, Van Belle S, Titeca K, et al. Multisectoral action for health in low-income and middle-income settings: how can insights from social science theories inform intragovernmental coordination efforts?BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e004064. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2020-004064