Abstract
Background and objectives: In Senegal, increased prevalence of overweight/obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases is of paramount concern, urging the transformation of food systems to deliver more nutritious and safe foods. Community involvement is recognised as an important factor in the success and sustainability of efforts to promote healthy eating and prevent overweight/obesity. Therefore, this study aimed to assess communities' readiness to address the issue of poor food safety and nutritional quality of foods available in their food environments (i.e., places where consumers acquire or consume foods) in urban Senegal. Methods: The Community Readiness Model (CRM), consisting of 36 open questions that revolves around five dimensions of readiness (community knowledge of efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge of the issue and resources) was used. Community leaders and actors who play a key role within the food environment were individually interviewed in two neighbourhoods of Guediawaye (n=9) and Dakar (n=10). Interviews were scored with a maximum of 9 points per dimension (1= no awareness, 9= high level of community ownership) and thematic analysis was conducted on key informants' recommendations to ensure nutritious and safe food systems. Results: Both communities reached the stage of 'vague awareness' of the issue, with a mean score of 3.00 ± 1.94 in Guediawaye and 3.11 ± 1.58 in Dakar. Both communities scored highest for 'knowledge of the issue' (6.00 ± 2.44 in Guediawaye; 5.69 ± 2.08 in Dakar), while the lowest scores were found for 'community knowledge of efforts' (1.46 ± 0.81 in Guediawaye; 1.86 ± 2.30 in Dakar). Leaders' concern and prioritisation of this issue was perceived as inexistent in both neighbourhoods, contrasting with high levels of community concern. Proposed solutions included: raising community awareness, improving sanitation infrastructure locally and nationally, and increasing government involvement. Conclusions: While several key informants recognised the lack of nutritious and safe food is a concern, they also highlighted other priority issues, such as lack of financial security, infrastructure and/or food insecurity/hunger within their communities. Encouraging community readiness through public awareness campaigns and increasing government engagement is needed before interventions to promote safe and nutritious food in urban Senegal can be introduced.