FAO in Sudan recognizes the significance of nutrition education as an important step for empowering affected population to have diversified healthy food choices. During April & May 2015,  FAO has conducted three trainings of trainers workshops on Promotion of Household’s Nutrition to improve food and nutrition security awareness of vulnerable farming and herding communities that suffer from high malnutrition rates . Two workshops were conducted in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states where disruption to normal life by fluctuating security status resulting in an increasing vulnerability to food insecurity and malnutrition. In addition, one workshop was conducted in Red Sea state, which reported is reported to have the highest malnutrition rates in Sudan.

Trainees (60% women) gathered from different national sectors (Agricultural, Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry, Water, Health, Environment and Education) at the state and local levels emphasizing the urgency for multi-sectorial collaboration and coordination required to combat malnutrition in Sudan. These workshops were directed to highlight and raise awareness on household gender and age group specific nutritional needs, food quality, provision of advice on how to improve food habits, dietary diversity and consumption according to specific community indigenous cultures. In addition the workshops aimed to increase community knowledge on issues of equity of access to nutritious food according to gender and age physical requirements.

Participation was active and fruitful; most of the trainees acknowledged their direct roles in raising household nutrition quality through promoting horticulture gardening within the households, schools and communities. In addition, participants recognized others sectors interlinked duties towards fighting malnutrition by increasing nutrition sensitive community activities such as local production of nutritious food along with improving technical skills on food preservation and processing to fill seasonal hunger gabs, ensure a year round supply of food and provide income generation opportunities for poor households.

FAO is committed to strengthening, expanding and increasing the outcomes of nutrition sensitive activities in Sudan. Advocacy and active engagement of relevant stakeholders are among FAO’s major priorities towards national  eradication of malnutrition and overall food and nutrition insecurity.

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FAO | Sudan

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