Brussels Development Briefing | Improving Nutrition through accountability, ownership & partnership

Photo courtesy of the CTA Brussels Office

On 20 May 2015, the 41st Brussels Development Briefing was held on the subject of “Improving nutrition through accountability, ownership and partnerships” to discuss the challenges of malnutrition for rural development faced by many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Brussels Development Briefings are regular events organized in Brussels by the Technical Centre for Agriculture (CTA) – in collaboration with the European Commission, the ACP Group, and other partners – on key issues and challenges for rural development in the context of EU/ACP cooperation.

The first panel was focused on Enhancing nutrition: a multi-sectoral approach. It reviewed key challenges and opportunities for enhanced nutrition of relevance to the agricultural sector in ACP countries and the lessons learned from research and practice. The panel included:

• Overview of undernutrition & malnutrition: what do we know, what have we learned? Marie Ruel, Director, Division Poverty, Health and Nutrition, IFPRI  [Presentation]
  
• Initiatives at international level: The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Tom Arnold, Interim SUN Movement Coordinator a.i., Ireland  
  
• Support partner countries in attaining their nutrition goals: the National Information Platforms for Nutrition Initiative Jean-Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit, Rural Development, Food & Nutrition Security, EC  [Presentation]
  
• Key findings of the global nutrition report: improved accountability and ownership Lawrence Haddad, Senior Researcher, IFPRI [Presentation]
• The role of CSOs in support of nutrition: field experience Stineke Oenema, Co-chair of the working group on food security, Concord [Presentation]

The second panel was focused on Best practices in addressing nutrition challenges. It looked at examples and drivers of successes in nutrition programmes at national level. It also highlighted successes in sustainable partnerships and public-private partnership’s and the key role of the private sector. The panel included:

• Successes in country leadership and ownership in addressing nutrition challenges Robinah Mulenga Kwofie, Executive Director, National Food and Nutrition Commission, Zambia  [Presentation]
  
• Successes in PPPs and the role of the private sector in support of nutrition Fokko Wientjes, Vice-President Corporate Sustainability & Public Private Partnerships, DSM 
  
• Drivers of success in biortification: the case of Iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda Lister Katsvairo, Country Manager, HarvestPlus, Rwanda  [Presentation]
• Examples of nutrition support through community participation and action Rose Ndolo, Senior Child Nutrition & FS Programmes Adviser, World Vision UK  [Presentation]
• Best practices in measuring impact of agriculture on nutrition Boitshepo Giyose, Senior Nutrition Officer, ESNP, FAO  [Presentation]

Learn more at the Brussels Briefings Website: http://brusselsbriefings.net/ 

Watch the web-stream below.