Food-based dietary guidelines in Africa: a scoping review

This project is a scoping review that systematically maps the content, technical depth, and policy embeddedness of officially published food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) across African countries. FBDG translate nutrient-based recommendations into culturally relevant food-level messages, but their scope, quantitative precision, and integration with national food and health policy vary substantially across countries. African FBDG remain markedly underrepresented in existing comparative reviews of dietary guidance, which have historically concentrated on high-income settings. The review follows the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework and will be reported according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. All African Union member states will be screened for a nationally endorsed FBDG publicly available in full text; all identified guides will be included in charting, as the inclusion criterion is public availability rather than an assessment of document quality. Data will be charted across more than twenty variables, including food-group distribution, macro- and micronutrient targets, water and physical activity recommendations, salt/sugar/fat/alcohol limits, visual food-guide models, environmental sustainability messaging, ultra-processed food classification, dietary/cost modelling, coverage of vulnerable populations, language availability, and linkage to public policy. Expected outcomes include a consolidated comparative matrix describing all included guides, a narrative synthesis of heterogeneity across the charted variables, an exploratory WHO-alignment score, and an income-level gradient analysis. This review constitutes the first instalment of a planned worldwide series of regional scoping reviews on FBDG, intended to eventually cover all world regions using the same charting protocol.