West Africa
The West Africa launch of The Lancet's Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition was held on Monday, February 18 and Tuesday, February 19, during a day-and-a-half of activities in Dakar, Senegal. Events included a regional press event and videoconference to launch the Series; a nutrition exhibit and press conference to announce Phase 2 of Senegal's "Programme de Renforcement de la Nutrition" (national nutrition strategy); and a technical briefing on the Series' five papers held by Dr. Saul Morris.
The regional videoconference to launch the Series was held at the Centre d’Enseignement à Distance (Distance Learning Center) and attended by over 120 members of the press, representatives of national and international NGOs, elected officials, representatives from UN agencies and donors, as well as participants from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mauritania who were connected from Distance Learning Centers in their respective countries. Dr. Saul Morris, Series author and Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, presented findings from the Series. Other speakers included Ms. Safiatou Thiam, Minister of Health, Senegal; Ismael Thiam, Nutrition and Child Survival advisor for WAHO; Banda Ndiaye, Programme Officer for the Micronutrient Initiative; Mustapha Darboe, West Africa Regional Director for the World Food Programme; and Eva Jarawan, Sector Manager, Human Development, West Africa, for the World Bank. Journalist Tidiane Barry moderated the event and directed questions from the audience and the four participating countries to each of the speakers.
Following the launch of the Series, an exhibit of effective nutrition interventions in Senegal was held at the Cercle Mess des Officiers. A coalition of more than 20 NGOs supported by the Cellule de lutte contre la malnutrition – the government office and coordinating body dedicated to the fight against malnutrition in Senegal – exhibited their work and distributed materials. The exhibit provided a backdrop for the launch of Phase 2 (2007-2011) of Senegal's Programme de Renforcement de la nutrition (PRN) – and a commitment to scaling-up efforts for the country to meet MDGs 1, 4 and 5 by 2015. Speakers included Biram Ndiaye, National Coordinator for the Cellule de lutte contre la malnutrition; a beneficiary from one of the Cellule's NGO grantee programs, Menno Mulder-Sibanda, Senior Nutrition Specialist, World Bank; Ian Hopwood, UNICEF Country Representative in Senegal, and Mme Awe Ndiaye, Senegalese Minister of Family, Female Entrepreneurialism and Micro Finance.
On Tuesday, February 19, Dr. Saul Morris held a technical briefing on the Series findings at the Centre d'Enseignement à Distance between 4:00-6:00 p.m. GMT. Dr. Morris presented on the Series’ five papers and took questions from an audience of 35 nutritionists, academics, government representatives and NGO and UN agency representatives.
The regional launch of the Series in Senegal convened the national, regional and international nutrition and health communities. The event provided an opportunity for leaders from several West African countries including Niger, Mali, Guinea and Togo, among others, to gather in Dakar independently from the Series launch and discuss potential nutrition advocacy activities for 2008.
Event Program (videoconference)
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