NIPN-ETHIOPIA LAUNCHED ITS FIRST NUTRITION POLICY AND RESEARCH SEMINAR
A Nutrition Policy and Research seminar with a theme “Food systems and diets in Ethiopia” was held on September 7, 2018 at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) training center.Hosted by EPHI and organized in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IPFRI), the seminar aimed at discussing on food systems for healthier diets in Ethiopia.
This first NIPN seminar was opened by Solomon Eshetu, Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Research Division of EPHI and moderated by Anne Bossuyt, IFPRI’s Senior Policy and Technical Advisor to NIPN. Two presentations were delivered and discussions were held among the participants.
The first presentation, by Bart Minten, program leader of IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program, on the topic “Evolving food systems in Ethiopia: past, present and future” explained the current trend on nutrition and the future expectations on agriculture and diet transformation.
He explained the context drivers, changes in markets, changes in farms and farmers and the future food systems. Dr Minten explained how Ethiopia’s food systems are rapidly evolving, being driven by major contextual changes including high population growth, rapid urbanization, infrastructure investments, and income growth.
The second presentation was delivered by Mestawet Gebru, research assistant in the Food Systems for Healthier Diets research flagship at Biodiversity International, on the topic “food systems for healthier diets in Ethiopia, toward a research agenda”.
Mestawet demonstrated how recent Ethiopian policies and programs call for sustainable food systems approaches aimed at achieving better nutrition for all. This relates to food production, processing, storage, transportation, trade, transformation, retailing, and consumption.
After the presentation, questions were raised and discussions held.
Finally a concluding remark was delivered by Dr. Namukolo Covic, Senior Research Coordinator at IFPRI for the Agriculture for Nutrition and Health Program, explaining about the objectives and the contribution of NIPN in Ethiopia. She specifically highlighted how NIPN can contribute to the agenda of improved food systems for better diets in Ethiopia.
The seminar brought together almost 80 researchers, program implementers and decision makers.
The National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN) is part of a global initiative launched by the European Commission to support countries with a large burden of undernutrition with the aim to promote evidence informed nutrition policies and programs. NIPN is hosted by the EPHI, financed by EU and implemented with the support of IFPRI.