Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for Acute Malnutrition Training

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Sudan  organizied training sessions during the period 11^th to 18^th Dec.2016 on Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for Acute Malnutrition in collaboration with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Support Unit (IPC GSU), Federal Food Security Technical Secretariat (FFSTS), and the Ministry of Health’s Food Security and Agriculture Departments’.

The opening session was addressed by H.E. Mr. Yagoub Mohamed Eltayeb, State Minister of Agriculture and Forestry who called on the participants to benefit as much as possible from such training which will help them participate strategically in addressing the challenges of acute malnutrition and promoting food security.

FAO Sudan Representative, Mr. Jama Abdi stressed in his remarks in the opening session on the governments’ efforts to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition. He said “Efforts have also been made at the policy level to create the necessary framework for a multi-sectorial, coordinated approach. This includes the development and endorsement of the Nutrition Policy Brief and the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy and formalizing the national multi-sectorial coordination body in the Higher Council for Food Security and Nutrition, chaired by the Vice President. Moreover, the establishment of the Higher Council of Food Security & Nutrition will help to identify the policies and institutional options for enhancing nutrition. These national policies and strategies will spearhead the improvement of the nutrition status of Sudanese population as a key component of the essential health care package with special focus on maternal, child and at risk population health and nutrition"

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global multi‐partner initiative to inform food security and nutrition policy and programming and, ultimately, to contribute to the global food and nutrition security.

The IPC has recently developed an acute malnutrition classification scale, namely IPC for Acute Malnutrition. IPC for Acute Malnutrition is a set of protocols to classify areas based on the prevalence of acute malnutrition, identify major contributing factors, and provide actionable knowledge by consolidating wide-ranging evidence on acute malnutrition and contributing factors. The purpose of this scale is to help classify areas based on the severity of acute malnutrition levels and identify major contributing factors to acute malnutrition in the areas of analysis. Used together with the IPC for Acute Food Insecurity scale, both scales will help analyse the acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations, which will eventually inform food security and nutrition programming.

IPC is now in the process of rolling out the IPC for Acute Malnutrition scale. Four rollouts were already implemented in South Sudan, Kenya, Mozambique and Madagascar and a fifth rollout is now running in Sudan through starting by this training.

The main objectives of the rollout include (a) building the capacity of the members of the IPC Technical Working Group in Sudan as well as staff of the IPC partner agencies in using the IPC for Acute Malnutrition scale and (b) applying the scale to classify areas based on the severity of the acute malnutrition and identify major contributing factors to acute malnutrition in each area of analysis.

The Workshop facilitator Ms. Fatima Hassan, from the Food Security Technical Secretariat in the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry affirmed on the importance of the training in analysing the nutrition indicators and the related diseases although not all of them can be attributed to malnutrition.