Adama (February 06, 2025) – NIPN/EPHI - The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) conducted the regular quarterly meeting of the National Food and Nutrition Strategy Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Steering Committee (MER-SC) here on February 6, 2025, during which sector representatives, researchers, and academia reviewed various performance reports. This event is technically and financially supported by the National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN-Ethiopia).
Opening the day-long MER-SC Meeting, NIPN-Ethiopia Coordinator, Dr. Aregash Samuel, said that the various Food and Nutrition Strategy Implementing Sectors would use the forum to share experiences, learn from each other’s achievements and challenges, and exchange insights. She said that participants “are expected to contribute points that enable everyone to draw valuable lessons”.
Dr. Aregash further noted that what makes the day’s MER-SC meeting unique is a presentation on research findings by EPHI. “It is a research - a promising initiative - that has not yet been finalized. Our senior researchers from EPHI have been committed to developing a new and unique methods, which will be commented on and enriched by all of us. This research will be presented by our colleague, Alemayehu Hussien, later on. This will make the current quarterly MER-SC meeting particularly significant,” she stated.
Nineteen Food and Nutrition Strategy (FNS) sector offices, which are composed of the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI), the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA), the EPHI, academia, and Regional Public Health Institutes and others, participated in the event, where sectors and agencies presented their respective bi-annual reports. All presenters focused on the progress made, the challenges encountered, and the upcoming activities to be completed.
Participants opened lively discussions over the reports presented by the sectors. Some participants raised concerns about inflated performance reports and exaggerated indicators, while others highlighted issues of overlapping responsibilities among sectors.
Alemayehu Hussien, Senior Data Analyst with EPHI, presented the preliminary research, on Multisectoral Nutrition Co-Coverage Indicator Development, which is being developed by senior researchers at EPHI. Outlining the objectives, Alemayehu stated that the research aims to develop a set of multisectoral intervention co-coverage indicators relevant to Ethiopia’s Food and Nutrition Strategy (FNS). It also seeks to identify lessons that will inform future multisector intervention coverage data collection efforts in Ethiopia and other Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Alemayehu further emphasized that the research is intended to enhance readiness for collecting and utilizing multisectoral nutrition indicators.
The event, held at Robi Hotel in Adama Town, saw the participation of over 30 sector representatives, senior researchers from various institutions, ministerial offices, academia and public health institutes at both federal and sub-national levels. (NIPN/EPHI).
