Adama - June 30, 2024 (FSNRD/EPHI) - Employees of the Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate (FSNRD) at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) have discussed the strategic performance plan for the 2024/25 Fiscal Year (FY). The plan document was submitted to designated reviewers, who will do further examination before forwarding it to the directorate for further appraisal.
The employees were divided into four divisions, each scrutinizing the draft annual performance plan in detail. The divisions presented their findings at a general meeting held last weekend in Adama Town.
Two special assignees are responsible for coordinating the evaluation of the 2023/24 FY report and finalizing the revised 2024/25 plan. One of the assignees, Zekarias Getu, is particularly involved in the planning process. Zekarias, who is also a Monitoring and Evaluation Expert at NIPN/EPHI, stated that each team's draft plan would be reviewed and refined before being submitted to the directorate. The directorate will then finalize the plan with input from the four divisions: Environmental Health Research, Food Safety and Food Anthropology Research, Nutrition and Food Science Research, and Non-Communicable Disease Research.
Zekarias mentioned that the annual plan would follow directives from EPHI’s newly restructured Directorate of Strategic Affairs, previously known as the Program Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Directorate. The plan aims to align with EPHI's strategic directives, goals, and objectives, according to Zekarias.
“Incomplete performances and situational analysis, such as strengths and weaknesses observed during the past budget year, will be given special emphasis in the new annual performance plan,” said Zekarias. Ahead of submitting the final plan for 2024/25 to the Strategic Affairs Executive Office of the EPHI, FSNRD will review it with a focus on its key initiatives, according to Zekarias.
Concluding the two-day meeting, FSNRD Director, Dr. Masresha Tessema, said the discussion provided a valuable platform for sharing views and experiences. He urged team coordinators, senior researchers and division heads to coordinate their colleagues for better plan achievement. Dr. Masresha also encouraged junior researchers to work diligently for success. “Every associate researcher is expected to publish an article in the Institute's bulletin. Those in the laboratory section should learn from their seniors. Senior researchers should also mentor junior colleagues to produce quality articles,” Masresha added. (FSNRD/EPHI).
