ADDIS ABABA – May 09, 2025 (NIPN/EPHI) - The National Information Platform for Nutrition Ethiopia (NIPN-Ethiopia) Coordinator, Dr. Aregash Samuel, said that the ten-day official visit conducted in India served as a platform to draw invaluable lessons from the Indian counterparts. She said that India is among the developing countries that have shown impressive progress in information technology, space technology, and the health sector, among others.
“Other developing nations such as Ethiopia can draw lessons from fast growing countries like India.” The visit conducted to India recently by members of the Advisory Committee (AC) of the NIPN-Ethiopia has brought together senior government officials and researchers to support the shared goal of collaboration in health initiatives in general and nutrition in particular, according to her.
The coordinator said that the visiting team had learned a lot from India’s experience in nutrition and data-driven policy making. “As NIPN-Ethiopia is working to promote evidence-based decision making for nutrition, India’s rich experience in nutrition data integration analysis and dissemination would help us learn a lot.”
Dr. Aregash said that the team toured, visiting various research centers situated in New Delhi, Bhopal, and Hyderabad. The commendable progress we have witnessed at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NEFTEM) and presentations on fortification, human milk banking at PATH, and visits made to Anganwadi Center, Community Nutrition Gardens, and institutes for integrative nutrition holds great value, she said.
She further stated that the visiting team from Ethiopia shared experiences with their Indian counterparts. Each member of the AC gave a briefing about the sector to which she or he belongs.
“The discussion we had at the Ethiopian Embassy in India was also a good opportunity to reflect on the development initiatives being carried out in all sectors across our country. H.E. Ambassador Fesseha Shawel expressed appreciation for the close collaboration that exists among Ethiopia, India, and GIZ,” she said.
Dr. Aregash took the opportunity to express appreciation to GIZ-India, and the Ethiopian Embassy to India that made the visit very interesting and a good knowledge-sharing forum for the visiting team. “I appreciate partners from GIZ-Ethiopia, GIZ-India, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, the Ministry of Water and Energy, the Ministry of Education, and others for making our visit very exciting. I am happy that this visit served as a valuable platform for knowledge sharing,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Masresha Tessema, Director of the Nutrition, Environmental Health, and Non-Communicable Disease Research Directorate at EPHI, who led the visiting team, stated in a note he released that the visit was aimed at fostering knowledge-sharing, strengthening institutional capacities, and laying groundwork for sustained partnership between Ethiopia and India. The director extended heartfelt gratitude to the GIZ-Ethiopia and GIZ-India for the warm welcome and for taking the time to organize the visit. (NIPN/EPHI)
