HAWASSA - May 30, 2024 (NIPN/EPHI) - The Director General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Dr. Mesay Hailu, emphasized the importance of collaboration among all relevant sectors to ensure the public's access to proper nutrition nationwide. Dr. Mesay made this statement here today at a consultative workshop while signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a bond between the National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN-Ethiopia), EPHI and Sidama Public Health Institute (SiPHI).
The Director General underscored after signing the MoU that to alleviate “the health hazards at the national level, a lot is expected from us”. He emphasized the need to gather and analyze scientific data to ensure the reliability of sources for policymaking.
"NIPN-Ethiopia, under EPHI, is playing a significant role in formulating and analyzing nutrition-related policy questions. The Cascading Initiative taken by NIPN-Ethiopia will help strengthen efforts to implement nutrition initiatives at the national level. Therefore, the MoU signifies the importance of implementing the policy and strategy being formulated on nutrition," emphasized the Director General of EPHI.
The Director General underlined the crucial roles of regional health bureaus and public health institutes in bringing health and nutrition projects to the grassroots community. The participation of these sectors is essential for the success of any similar projects.
“It is important for NIPN/EPHI to collaborate with regional health bureaus and public health institutions in order to enhance the success of health projects. Working closely with these entities is crucial to ensuring that nutrition and health initiatives effectively reach the intended beneficiaries. It is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to strengthen the capacity of public health institutions in each region, thereby enabling them to carry out their work with improved quality and efficiency,” Dr. Mesay said.
The EPHI Director General expressed hope that the second cascading agreement signed with SiPHI would become fruitful. “EPHI is ready to support the activities being carried out at the regional level,” he said.
The Director General of SiPHI, Dr. Damene Debalke, stated that his institute would work diligently to achieve the objectives outlined in the cascading initiatives. “It is a great opportunity for SiPHI to be selected among many competitors to cascade NIPN’s activities in our region. I would like to reaffirm my commitment that SiPHI is ready to live up to expectations,” Dr. Damene said.
Opening the consultative workshop, Dr. Masresha Tessema, Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, emphasized the importance of implementing NIPN/EPHI initiatives across the region. “The key roles of NIPN-Ethiopia require the involvement of all relevant sectors. Formulating policy questions , analyzing evidence-based nutrition data can be productive with cooperation from all sides. That’s why we say cascading is a crucial initiative. EPHI is prepared to support the implementation of this by strengthening sub-national public health institutions,” Dr. Masresha said.
Dr. Aregash Samuel, the Coordinator of NIPN-Ethiopia, emphasized the roles and objectives of NIPN-Ethiopia.
Thirty-five participants drawn from EPHI, NIPN-Ethiopia, SiPHI, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI), Hawassa University, civic society, and different sectors of Sidama Region were in attendance at the consultative workshop held in the Central Hotel of Hawassa City. (NIPN/EPHI)
