Addis Ababa, July 20, 2023 (NIPN/EPHI) - The NIPN Ethiopia Advisory Committee (AC) held its biannual meeting on July 20, 2023, at the Marriott Executive Apartments in Addis Ababa, organized by the NIPN-Ethiopia Team in collaboration with IFPRI and GIZ.
The AC, which was established in May 2019, is responsible for providing support and guidance on the implementation of the NIPN project in Ethiopia. It comprises representatives from various government agencies, including the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), the Seqota Declaration Initiative, and the EPHI, as well as representatives from development partners.
The meeting was presided over by Dr. Sisay Sinamo, Senior Program Manager, Seqota Declaration Federal Program Delivery Unit, representing Dr. Meseret Zelalem, the Chair of the NIPN Advisory Committee and Lead Executive Officer of Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH). Taking part in the meeting were AC members, Dr. Aregash Samuel, Senior Researcher at EPHI and NIPN coordinator, Dr.Tadesse Alemu (IFPRI), Ms.Tirsit Genye (IFPRI), and members of the NIPN Team.
At the outset, Dr. Aregash Samuel welcomed the AC members and expressed her gratitude for their valuable contributions to the NIPN program, and emphasized the importance of their continued collaboration to achieve the program's goals.
Dr. Sisay introduced the agenda, including the review of the previous meeting's action points, progress of NIPN-II and policy questions’ formulation, feasibility study results, and impact of nutrition interventions on reducing Low Birth weight, then opened the floor for presentations. Dr. Aregash presented updates on previously agreed action points, followed by her report on NIPN's progress.
In her detailed report, Dr. Aregash reported that vacant positions were filled, capacity strengthening trainings were provided, a feasibility study was conducted to cascade NIPN activities to regions, and a NIPN delegation participated in a global gathering in Brussels.
Dr. Meron Girma presented on 10-policy questions identified through the consultative process. Dr. Elazar Tadesse presented a feasibility study on cascading NIPN activities to Regional Public Health Institutes in Ethiopia. Dr. Anbisa Muleta presented a paper exploring the impact of scaling up nutrition interventions on reducing low birth weight incidence in Ethiopia using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) approach.
The meeting was conducted in an interactive manner, with each presentation followed by a comments, questions and answers session, as well as discussions on the topics presented.
The members of the Advisory Committee expressed their appreciation for the progress made by NIPN and the positive outcomes achieved thus far. Additionally, they provided comments and guidance on areas they believed required further focus.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Aregash expressed her gratitude to all participants for their active engagement and commitment to the NIPN initiative. She emphasized that the questions and suggestions raised would be given due consideration and addressed accordingly.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Sisay expressed his confidence that the NIPN project will not only make significant progress in Ethiopia but also serve as a model for the entire African region in advancing nutrition outcomes through evidence-based policy making. (NIPN/EPHI)
