By Iyemah David
The West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) is consolidating its efforts to accelerate the achievement of regional nutrition indices through the 17th ECOWAS Nutrition Forum, being hosted for the first time by the Federal Government of Nigeria, in Abuja, from April 19th-21st 2023.
The meeting is being organized by WAHO with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Nigeria, in collaboration with a coalition of technical and financial partners and is expected to be opened by Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, alongside a host of regional nutrition champions.
After holding 16 editions of the forum in different ECOWAS Member States, WAHO in collaboration with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and a coalition of technical and financial partners is holding the 17th Edition in Abuja (Nigeria) under the theme: “Leveraging Sustainable Financing for Multi-Sectoral Approaches: Breaking Down Silos to Accelerate Universal Access to Safe, Affordable and Sustainable Diets.”
The ECOWAS Nutrition Forum is a regional platform that brings together key nutrition stakeholders biennially, to discuss nutrition policies and practices, progress in reducing malnutrition and diet-related diseases and innovative practices in the region.
About 250 nutrition experts from across the region will participate in the meeting.
The main objective of this meeting is to strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration to improve financing and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for nutrition.
The forum will be an opportunity to examine innovative multisectoral collaboration practices that work best in terms of the synergy of action and sustainable financing of nutrition interventions.
“The participants will discuss Public Private Partnership (PPP) approaches to improve access to diversified, micronutrient-rich foods sustainably. They will also agree on sustainable mechanisms for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) of nutrition interventions”.
The Forum is an example of WAHO’s multisectoral approaches, involving a broad base of stakeholders (the UN System, NGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies, the ECOWAS Commission and Parliament, civil society, and all Member States).
“WAHO through the platform will provide practitioners with baseline data and communities with best practices to overcome malnutrition, which remains a problem for the region in the COVID-19/post-COVID-19 era and in the context of deep economic crisis.”
The partners supporting the meeting coordination alongside WAHO and FMOH include the Office of the Nigerian Vice-President, the Federal Ministry of Information & Communication, UNICEF, USAID, the World Bank, FAO, UEMOA, GAIN, CS-SUNN, Alive and Thrive, Advancing Nutrition, Nutrition International, and HSDF amongst others.
3 comments
Please I would like to join in the meeting of the 17 th ECOWAS meeting.
Please I would like to join in the meeting of the 17 th ECOWAS meeting.
Iam a Registered Dietitan Nutritionist i will attend.