Food systems determinants of seasonal malnutrition in children under five years in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review protocol

Introduction Malnutrition in children under five years remains a critical public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where an estimated 148 million children are stunted and 45 million are wasted. While malnutrition is often discussed as a persistent issue, evidence suggests it frequently exhibits distinct seasonal patterns linked to agricultural cycles, climatic conditions, and socio-economic factors. Despite ongoing interventions, efforts have often overlooked the role of food system dynamics in seasonal undernutrition. Using a systems perspective, this scoping review aims to examine the food systems determinants of seasonal malnutrition in children under five years in SSA.Methods and analysis This scoping review will follow the JBI scoping review framework and PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines. We will search electronic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and ProQuest for relevant literature published from 2015 to the present. Grey literature from institutional repositories will also be included. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts based on predefined inclusion criteria. Data extraction will capture study characteristics and multi-level food systems determinants (micro, meso, and macro) of seasonal malnutrition. The Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) framework will guide the analysis to understand how factors at micro, meso and macro levels contribute to seasonal nutritional outcomes in children under five. The results will provide a map of the breadth and depth of evidence on food system determinants of seasonal malnutrition in children under five in SSA.Ethics and dissemination As this review involves analysis of previously published data, ethical approval is not required. Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and a conference presentation. Results will inform the development of integrated systems-based approaches to address seasonal malnutrition in children under five in SSA. The full study protocol, datasets and supplementary forms will be published in an open-access repository in compliance with the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reuse principles.Registration This scoping review protocol will be registered with the Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RU4ZX