Validation Workshop to Develop “Nutrition Social Behavioral Change and Communication (SBCC) Roadmap and Manual”.
Thursday 16 June, 2022 at Hotel Asmara Palace
Honorable Ministers
High Government and UN Officials
Dear Participants
Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
From the outset, allow me to commend the organizers, trainers and the trainees of this program that culminated into this Validation Workshop that is the outcome of several training packages that took nearly 3 years in a project named “Improving Nutrition in Eritrea: Agro-diversity Nourishing Communities (TCP/ERI/3704). This is a joint collaboration with FAO.
Today, through presentations, group work and discussions you have successfully reached the stage of termination of the project by proposing constructive ideas for the way forward for the next stage.
This is a collaboration of the National Project Coordination (NPC), input of the Technical Committee for Food and Nutrition Security, Partner Ministries (the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Marine Resource and Fisheries, Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Eritrean Standards Institution). Additional collaboration also came from the Ministry Labor and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the National Union of Eritrean Women, UN Agencies and the FAO Experts and their Consultants. We welcome them all!!
Over a period of time, the project covered (a) Trials of Improved Practice (b) Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) and (c) co-facilitation of Master Training (Training of Trainers), and (d) Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC).
The project also addressed locally available foods with high nutrition value and food demonstration for developing improved recipes and food diversity. Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture also became a prominent component.
The project has enhanced the nutritional impact of the “Minimum Integrated Household Agricultural Package (MIHAP)” in beneficiary communities through nutrition knowledge and skills, healthy complementary feeding, availability and access to diversified nutrient-dense foods, good health and hygiene practices coupled with rural women`s empowerment and national stakeholder`s capacity strengthening. In brief, MIHAP aims to improve the family and satisfy their food and nutrition requirements, while improving their economic status.
This validation workshop on SBCC is awareness raising issue. Awareness is a vital step to achieve optimal food and nutrition security and the prevention of malnutrition-related complications.
Nutrition is a multi-sector discipline integrating environment, food standards, trade, social welfare, education, health, media, social organizations and agricultural programs for successful interventions.
In between, while we talk about production and productivity, we also stress the need to make agriculture nutrition sensitive. The flagship program aims to improve the living conditions of beneficiary families and satisfy their food and nutrition requirements, while improving their economic status.
I thank you for your attention!!
Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea