This article outlines why political commitment is especially vital for undernutrition reduction compared with other development outcomes. It suggests some of the reasons for this lack of commitment and puts forward a number of approaches to be tested on how such commitment can be fostered as part of an overall enabling environment for undernutrition reduction. It provides a brief review of four relevant research streams. It concludes that while the evidence base is small, the consensus is that the importance of visibility, commitment and accountability are recognised, but guidance is lacking to indicate how to attain these desired features of the enabling environment.