BY: MOHAMED SAHR
Sierra Leone’s commitment to eradicating malnutrition was highlighted by the Food and Agricultural Organization, with the National Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Office, Madam Nenebah Jalloh, emphasizing this dedication during a recent United Nations nutrition validation engagement. Held on Sunday, April 21st, 2024, at the Family Kingdom in Aberdeen, the event gathered key players in the sector to discuss and validate a crucial document.
Hannah Yonkson National, the Professional Officer for Nutrition and Food Safety, representing the UN Nutrition Chair, stressed the importance of the engagement in enhancing nutrition coordination and scaling up actions. She explained that the exercise aimed to provide an overview of nutrition stakeholders, their locations, geographical coverage, and beneficiaries for selected core nutrition actions. This, she believed, would facilitate evidence-based actions to improve nutrition outcomes and contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3 by 2030.
Nenebah Jalloh reiterated Sierra Leone’s steadfast commitment to combating malnutrition, emphasizing the country’s active participation in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement since 2012. Central to these efforts is the Scaling-Up Nutrition Secretariat, operating under the Vice-President’s Office.
William Knechtel, a program analyst with UN Nutrition, presented the Sierra Leone Nutrition Stakeholder & Action Mapping initiative, aiming to enhance nutrition coordination and discussions by providing an overview of stakeholders and estimated beneficiary coverage for core nutrition actions. However, he cautioned that the data might not be exhaustive or exact, as it relied on voluntary reporting at the district level.
Elizabeth Alie, from Njala University, stressed the importance of knowing individuals in the sector to enhance quality, urging stakeholders to support the university’s contributions.
Aminata Shamit Koroma, Chief Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health, emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to reduce malnutrition, stating that the report would provide valuable insights into the nutrition sector’s demographics and activities.
