Addis Ababa, November 23, 2024 (FBC) – The 6th annual forum of Ethiopian Nutrition Leaders Network (ENLN) held in Addis Ababa today under the theme “Nutrition Leadership towards Resilience and Climate Change Actions for Nutrition in Ethiopia”.
The forum brought together government officials in the health sector, scholars, researchers, nutritionists from various parts of the country and representatives of international organizations.
On behalf of Hiwot Darsene, Lead Executive Officer at Nutrition Coordination Office at the Ministry of Health, Yonathan Molla, a senior expert at the institute, stated that Ethiopia is one of the most vulnerable countries negatively affected by impacts of climate change such as drought and floods which have direct relationship with the food system.
He underscored the need to work together to advance responsibilities of all stakeholders to accelerate climate action in mitigating, and adapting to climate change impacts to ensure sustainable development thereby scaling up nutrition.
“Ethiopia is implementing the Food and Nutrition Strategy across the country. In addition, we are also implementing the Seqota Declaration which is a 15-year government commitment to ending stunting in children under two years by 2030. This commitment is designed to be implemented in 3 phases: Innovative, Expansion and Scale up,” he explained, calling active participation of all stakeholders for the realization of the goals.
The government is providing leadership and coordination among various sectors to transform the health and nutritional status of adolescent, women and children, he said.
He added that the ongoing leadership interventions include the efforts to enhance income and transform livelihoods of smallholder farmers, reduce postharvest food loss and transform health and nutrition status of school children, among others.
Dragana Strinic, Country Director, Save the Children Ethiopia Country Director and Chair of Ethiopian Civil Society Coalition for Scaling Up Nutrition (ECSC-SUN), stated that the coalition has more than 63 members of national and international civil society organizations that are committed to improving nutrition by supporting the Ethiopia’s initiatives to end malnutrition in all its forms.
“Impactful leadership is pivotal in reducing such climate-induced food system and nutrition challenges. Our coming together gives us a sound opportunity for linking visionary nutrition leadership and sharing knowledge. The ECSC-SUN strives to strengthen leadership while ensuring accountability in collaboration with government sectors, partners and donors,” she pointed out.
Dragana Strinic also emphasized that committed leadership is powerful in guiding the implementation of national initiatives such as the Food and Nutrition Strategy, the Seqota Declaration, and the overarching transformation of Ethiopia’s food systems, reaffirming continued support to this end.
Associate Professor Tefera Belachew, a senior nutrition expert at Jimma University, appreciated the ongoing efforts being exerted by the government through the Green Legacy Initiative and Urban Agriculture program as key drivers of capacity building in the food system. Saying that climate change is exasperating the challenges in the food system, Associate Professor Tefera called for closer cooperation among the academia, research intuitions and policy makers to support government’s ongoing initiatives to improve nutrition nationwide.