May 31, Addis Ababa: Today, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) launched the multi-sectoral National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN), which aims to establish a sustainable, comprehensive information system for nutrition in the country. With NIPN, Ethiopia aims to strengthen capacities to analyze existing data on nutrition. Ultimately, NIPN will provide decision makers of nutrition policies and programs with improved evidence related to the drivers of malnutrition, and how these can be addressed. In addition, NIPN will also support better tracking of the National Nutrition Program in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has shown remarkable progress in reducing undernutrition in the country: the share of children suffering from stunting reduced from 58 percent in 2001 to 38 percent in 2016. However, further efforts are needed to reach the targets of the National Nutrition Programme, which aims to reduce stunting to 26 percent by the year 2020.  “My hope is that NIPN becomes a platform for many sectors to actively engage and collaborate. Indeed, we must work together across sectors to end malnutrition in Ethiopia,” said a representative of the ministry of health.

Underlining the importance of the project, Dr. Tsigereda Kifle, Deputy Director General of EPHI, said, “NIPN will support the country to better utilize existing multi-sectoral data; build capacity for data management and analysis; and translate research findings into policy and programmatic recommendations.”

The NIPN project aims to establish a sustainable system and has three expected outcomes: to develop the capacity of EPHI, sectoral ministries and partners to operate and maintain the NIPN; to track progress in meeting objectives of NNP and monitor nutrition investments; and to ensure better understanding and use of evidence by the National Nutrition Coordinating Body (NNCB) and sectoral decision makers in nutrition for strategic and programmatic decision making.

To achieve this, the  NIPN will maximize the analysis and interpretation of existing information and data on nutrition to improve understanding of the factors that influence it, both nationally and locally; identify gaps in information that need to be filled and problems with the consistency and quality of data; build plausible arguments about the effectiveness of interventions, programmes, approaches and investments to prevent malnutrition; contribute to monitoring national and sub-national progress in preventing malnutrition; and help strengthen accountability of governments and donors to meet their commitments.

In Ethiopia, NIPN is administratively housed in EPHI, but will work with all the National Nutrition Programme (NNP) stakeholders. Through NIPN, EPHI will further build on the multi-sectoral character of the National Nutrition Program, as the platform will reach out to all sectors, including those who are currently less involved in nutrition research agenda. It will contribute to strengthening national capacity to manage and analyze information and data from all sectors that have an influence on nutrition and to disseminate and use information to better inform strategic decisions.

Envisaged for a duration of four years, the project is funded by the European Commission.  Ethiopia will benefit from global linkages with at least ten countries which are also part of the NIPN initiative including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Laos, Niger, Uganda and Zambia. A Global NIPN Support Facility will coordinate the initiative within and between these countries, support countries to design and establish each NIPN, build capacity and provide technical assistance, and link with SUN and other initiatives to ensure coherence.

In Ethiopia, technical support to NIPN will be provided by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), under its  Compact2025 initiative. Compact2025 was launched in November 2015 to accelerate progress to end hunger and undernutrition by 2025. It brings stakeholders together to set priorities, innovate and learn, fine-tune actions, build on successes, and share lessons to accelerate progress.

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Editors’ Note: The NIPN initiative of the European Commission aims to support countries with a large burden of undernutrition to create a country-led and country-owned multi-sectoral National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN). The initiative is aimed at European Union partner countries that are members of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and are committed to deliver evidence-based programmes and interventions to improve human nutrition. It is funded by the European Commission, the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The EU, in collaboration with Agropolis, set up a  Global Support Facility (GSF) to support each country during the development of the NIPN, and to coordinate the technical support and capacity building required. In addition, a global NIPN Expert Advisory Group provides technical guidance and advice throughout the project. Information on the global initiative can be found on http://www.nipn-nutrition-platforms.org.

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The Ethiopian Public Health Institute’s mission is to improve the health of the general public of Ethiopia through undertaking research on priority health and nutrition issues for evidence based information utilization and technology transfer; effective public health emergency management; establishing quality laboratory system; and training public health researchers and practitioners for best public health interventions. For more information on EPHI, see http://www.ephi.gov.et/.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with an emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. Compact2025 is an IFPRI initiative which will specifically support the establishment of NIPN in Ethiopia. By building a knowledge base and promoting innovation, Compact2025 helps countries develop, scale up, and communicate policies and programs to accelerate progress toward ending hunger and undernutrition. For more information on Compact 2025, see https://www.ifpri.org/program/compact2025. IFPRI will also forge strong links between its strong and long-lasting partnerships in the country and NIPN. These include IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP), which is implemented in collaboration with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) and studies agriculture-nutrition linkages as well as the impact of nutrition-sensitive investments in the country; and the IFPRI-led CGIAR Research Programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), which involves an ongoing project with EPHI to develop food-based dietary guidelines. For more information on ESSP, see https://www.ifpri.org/program/ethiopia-strategy-support-program; and for more information on A4NH, see https://www.ifpri.org/division/agriculture-nutrition-and-health-a4nh.

May 31, Addis Ababa: Today, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) launched the multi-sectoral National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN), which aims to establish a sustainable, comprehensive information system for nutrition in the country. With NIPN, Ethiopia aims to strengthen capacities to analyze existing data on nutrition. Ultimately, NIPN will provide decision makers of nutrition policies and programs with improved evidence related to the drivers of malnutrition, and how these can be addressed. In addition, NIPN will also support better tracking of the National Nutrition Program in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has shown remarkable progress in reducing undernutrition in the country: the share of children suffering from stunting reduced from 58 percent in 2001 to 38 percent in 2016. However, further efforts are needed to reach the targets of the National Nutrition Programme, which aims to reduce stunting to 26 percent by the year 2020.  “My hope is that NIPN becomes a platform for many sectors to actively engage and collaborate. Indeed, we must work together across sectors to end malnutrition in Ethiopia,” said a representative of the ministry of health.

Underlining the importance of the project, Dr. Tsigereda Kifle, Deputy Director General of EPHI, said, “NIPN will support the country to better utilize existing multi-sectoral data; build capacity for data management and analysis; and translate research findings into policy and programmatic recommendations.”

The NIPN project aims to establish a sustainable system and has three expected outcomes: to develop the capacity of EPHI, sectoral ministries and partners to operate and maintain the NIPN; to track progress in meeting objectives of NNP and monitor nutrition investments; and to ensure better understanding and use of evidence by the National Nutrition Coordinating Body (NNCB) and sectoral decision makers in nutrition for strategic and programmatic decision making.

To achieve this, the  NIPN will maximize the analysis and interpretation of existing information and data on nutrition to improve understanding of the factors that influence it, both nationally and locally; identify gaps in information that need to be filled and problems with the consistency and quality of data; build plausible arguments about the effectiveness of interventions, programmes, approaches and investments to prevent malnutrition; contribute to monitoring national and sub-national progress in preventing malnutrition; and help strengthen accountability of governments and donors to meet their commitments.

In Ethiopia, NIPN is administratively housed in EPHI, but will work with all the National Nutrition Programme (NNP) stakeholders. Through NIPN, EPHI will further build on the multi-sectoral character of the National Nutrition Program, as the platform will reach out to all sectors, including those who are currently less involved in nutrition research agenda. It will contribute to strengthening national capacity to manage and analyze information and data from all sectors that have an influence on nutrition and to disseminate and use information to better inform strategic decisions.

Envisaged for a duration of four years, the project is funded by the European Commission.  Ethiopia will benefit from global linkages with at least ten countries which are also part of the NIPN initiative including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Laos, Niger, Uganda and Zambia. A Global NIPN Support Facility will coordinate the initiative within and between these countries, support countries to design and establish each NIPN, build capacity and provide technical assistance, and link with SUN and other initiatives to ensure coherence.

In Ethiopia, technical support to NIPN will be provided by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), under its  Compact2025 initiative. Compact2025 was launched in November 2015 to accelerate progress to end hunger and undernutrition by 2025. It brings stakeholders together to set priorities, innovate and learn, fine-tune actions, build on successes, and share lessons to accelerate progress.

###

Editors’ Note: The NIPN initiative of the European Commission aims to support countries with a large burden of undernutrition to create a country-led and country-owned multi-sectoral National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN). The initiative is aimed at European Union partner countries that are members of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and are committed to deliver evidence-based programmes and interventions to improve human nutrition. It is funded by the European Commission, the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The EU, in collaboration with Agropolis, set up a  Global Support Facility (GSF) to support each country during the development of the NIPN, and to coordinate the technical support and capacity building required. In addition, a global NIPN Expert Advisory Group provides technical guidance and advice throughout the project. Information on the global initiative can be found on http://www.nipn-nutrition-platforms.org.

                                                                                                ###

The Ethiopian Public Health Institute’s mission is to improve the health of the general public of Ethiopia through undertaking research on priority health and nutrition issues for evidence based information utilization and technology transfer; effective public health emergency management; establishing quality laboratory system; and training public health researchers and practitioners for best public health interventions. For more information on EPHI, see http://www.ephi.gov.et/.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with an emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. Compact2025 is an IFPRI initiative which will specifically support the establishment of NIPN in Ethiopia. By building a knowledge base and promoting innovation, Compact2025 helps countries develop, scale up, and communicate policies and programs to accelerate progress toward ending hunger and undernutrition. For more information on Compact 2025, see https://www.ifpri.org/program/compact2025. IFPRI will also forge strong links between its strong and long-lasting partnerships in the country and NIPN. These include IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP), which is implemented in collaboration with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) and studies agriculture-nutrition linkages as well as the impact of nutrition-sensitive investments in the country; and the IFPRI-led CGIAR Research Programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), which involves an ongoing project with EPHI to develop food-based dietary guidelines. For more information on ESSP, see https://www.ifpri.org/program/ethiopia-strategy-support-program; and for more information on A4NH, see https://www.ifpri.org/division/agriculture-nutrition-and-health-a4nh.