Oct. 19, 2019 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Senior Regional Programme Coordinator at IGAD Health and Social Development Division, Mrs Fatuma I. Adan, yesterday inaugurated a Validation Workshop for IGAD Nutrition Advocacy Strategy in Entebbe.
This Meeting is bringing together a team of nutrition, health and agriculture experts from IGAD Member States in order for them to rigorously review the draft policy and share their experiences to polish the policy for validation. The aim of this meeting is to validate the IGAD Nutrition Advocacy Policy and institutional Frameworks affecting nutrition and health in the IGAD region.
Furthermore, this two-day the meeting will be the opportunity to:
- Review an annual assessment of the nutrition knowledge management tools;
- Review the IGAD on-line nutrition repository framework;
- Discuss the establishment of nutrition centre of excellence; and
- Set a baseline for regional nutrition advocacy and M&E.
In her opening remarks, Mrs Fatuma I. Adan highlighted that ‘the IGAD nutrition advocacy strategy will guide the IGAD Secretariat and Member States to increase political commitment for nutrition in planning and resource allocation’.
‘An IGAD Centre of Excellence in Nutrition will foster improved and standardized capacity development in nutrition, and facilitate training for the region, not only for local needs’, she added.
Mrs Fatuma I. Adan urged the experts to deliberate extensively and come up with informed guidance on subject matter to decision makers before declaring the meeting open.
The anticipated outputs of the meeting include the following:
- A validated IGAD regional maternal, infant and young children nutrition advocacy strategy;
- A validated IGAD regional maternal, infant and young children nutrition advocacy score card with baseline values;
- Documented activities and strategy for Nutrition Centre of Excellence; and
- IGAD knowledge management products reviewed and suggestions for improvement given and documented.
With support from UNICEF, IGAD Secretariat has undertaken consultative meetings with nutrition country directors in all its Member States to get a clear understanding of the causes and challenges of nutrition situation in the IGAD region in order to develop the draft strategy to be discussed.
