Improving Training in Nutrition in Emergencies

Summary of workshop report¹

An international workshop on improving training in emergency nutrition was held in Nairobi on November 6th and 7th 2008². The workshop brought together universities, training institutions, humanitarian agencies and government staff with the common goal of improving training in emergency nutrition in developing countries. The main objectives of the workshop were to:

• Create awareness of the new nutrition in emergencies Harmonised Training Package (HTP), developed by NutritionWorks³ under the auspices of the Global Nutrition Cluster (see Box 1).
• Identify opportunities for the academic accreditation of nutrition in emergencies training courses.
• Explore approaches for better integrating academic training courses with field and on-the-job training and other types of sustainable training initiatives through partnerships.

A background paper was presented, as well as country and agency experiences of nutrition in emergencies training⁴. A key output of the workshop was a consensus statement for future nutrition in emergencies training (see Box 2).

In addition, nine core principles upon which future training in nutrition in emergencies is based were also agreed:

1. Prioritising national and regional capacity
   Emergency nutrition training is required by a number of target groups. The priority group is 'national' staff so that in emergency contexts, there are a sufficient number of adequately trained staff with emergency nutrition skills who can be quickly and easily deployed.
2. Focus on nutrition literacy
   'Nutrition literacy' refers to an understanding of nutrition concepts and issues. 'Nutrition literacy' is required by a broad range of actors involved in emergencies, and not confined to nutritionists alone. 'Nutrition literacy' needs to be raised at all levels, from field staff to senior managers.
3. Range of training
   These will include training, for example, for graduate and undergraduate students, humanitarian agency staff and government staff.
4. Institutionalisation and accreditation/ certification
   It is important to embed training within existing institutions and structures in order to sustain initiatives. A system of certification for nutrition in emergency training courses recognised by both academic institutions and operational agencies would help to keep the quality of training high.

The focus needs to be on improving 'nutrition literacy' in a broad range of professions from nutrition to food security specialists, and agricultural staff social sector workers.

5. Practical experience and internships
   Linking classroom-based learning with practical experience was agreed to be essential in emergency nutrition training.
6. Trainers
   A cadre of good trainers in nutrition in emergencies is essential. Trainers may not necessarily be technical experts. However, it will be hugely advantageous if trainers have some level of practical experience and understand the realities of emergency contexts.
7. Sustainability
   Many training initiatives have failed in the past because they were not sustained. In some cases this was due to lack of funding but more commonly, it was due to a lack of appropriate trainers on hand to do the training and a lack of commitment by participating agencies. One way of ensuring financial and political sustainability will be through developing business models that are able to ensure adequate income from funding and/or student fees, while maintaining commitment from within the training institution.
8. Advocacy
   Good advocacy was viewed as the essential element to successful nutrition in emergencies training. Advocacy is needed at global level, regional and national level. A series of steps should be followed to develop a successful advocacy plan, the first of which is documenting the evidence. For example, there is a common view that there are not enough people with emergency nutrition and related skills available, especially 'national' staff, but there has been no attempt to document and analyse this gap. An 'audit' of staff that could be deployed in an emergency with nutritionrelated skills would be useful. In addition to this quantitative evidence, qualitative information, such as case studies of particular emergencies and real-time evaluations, would be useful in understanding where the gaps in capacity are.
   An urgent need was identified for the creation of a web based searchable register of staff with relevant skills. Creation of this register would also contribute to the audit of the 'capacity gap'. This type of analysis fits within the Global Nutrition Cluster capacity development strategy objectives.
9. Evaluation/quality control
   Evaluating the process and outputs achieved by training initiatives will be very important in order to ensure that the quality achieved is good enough to meet the needs for professional competence identified by employers and others.

The way forward

Global Nutrition Cluster is currently looking at the appropriate institution for hosting an interactive website for the HTP. Once established, this will provide an ideal opportunity to expand and obtain feedback on the HTP and institutionalise monitoring of the HTP. Specific recommendations were made by the workshop participants in relation to dissemination of the HTP as follows:

1. There is a need to translate the HTP if wide spread use is to be achieved. The Global Nutrition Cluster Capacity Development Working Group (CDWG) has committed to translating the HTP into French and Arabic. Portuguese was identified as another priority language.
2. To help ensure widespread use, the HTP needs graphic layout to be completed for all modules.
3. Some paper copies of the HTP may be needed because of difficulties with internet access and downloading large files.

Proposal for a Nutrition in Emergencies Training Network

There was discussion around the concept of a Nutrition in Emergencies Training Network (NIETN) and how it would look (See Figure 1). It was suggested that the network was an affiliation of four key partners encompassing universities and training institutions, humanitarian agencies, government bodies and other interested agencies, including the Global Nutrition Cluster and donors. The overall goal of the network would be to improve training in nutrition in emergencies. The network would be managed by a coordinating group that would initially be tasked with developing funding proposals to carry out key activities. A proposal for the Network has been written by NutritionWorks. It is envisaged that in early 2009, a first meeting of the network will be held and proposals will be produced for network activities.

¹The full report is available from: http://www.humanitarianreform.org, click Nutrition

²The workshop was the initiative of the UNICEF-led Global Nutrition Cluster and was organised on their behalf by NutritionWorks, in association with the Centre for International Health and Development, University College London. The workshop is part of a broader emergency nutrition capacity development strategy being implemented by the Global Nutrition Cluster Capacity Development Working Group.

³NutritionWorks is a UK based partnership of international nutritionists with expertise in emergency nutrition and capacity building.

⁴These can be obtained from Carmel Dolan or Fiona Watson: see end of document for contact details.