COVID-19 Learning Series
In 2021, ENN embarked on a COVID-19 Learning Series1 that aimed to complement existing COVID-19 learning initiatives within the nutrition sector, including through the Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance, capitalising on our rich network and fora. A key focus of the series was on capturing the field-level experiences of those operating within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. ENN wanted the series to contribute to understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on undernutrition and nutrition issues in local communities as well as the challenges that COVID-19 presents for implementing nutrition services.
To ensure that ENN was complementing, rather than replicating, existing learning efforts, ENN initially embarked on a survey of needs that was intended to inform the selection of topics and contacts for case studies. This survey was designed to collect information from our network on the topics that they felt were still underrepresented within the existing information pool regarding COVID-19 and nutrition programming/services in low- to middle- income countries.
These survey results are now published2 and they were used to inform the subsequent work in the series. ENN then produced four case studies and a synthesis document focusing on the role of entrepreneurs in supporting nutrition and health services during the pandemic:
- Case study 1: Western Stone Enterprise, a woman-led business that produces peanut paste, sesame paste and other value-added agricultural products in Kenya.
- Case study 2: Adeck Juice Bar, an all-natural smoothie bar run by a young entrepreneur in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
- Case study 3: Sky Brands, a food processing company specialising in biofortified products in Zimbabwe.
- Case study 4: Solvoz, an open-access digital procurement platform connecting humanitarian organisations and local suppliers.
- Synthesis report: a short summary of the key learnings from the four case studies relevant to nutrition practitioners.
Finally, ENN also produced a report on practitioners’ experiences of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number and demographics of those people accessing nutrition services in low- and middle-income countries3. This was a qualitative synthesis of perspectives shared with ENN over several online interviews representing organisations from across the world.
We trust that this Learning Series offers an interesting snapshot of stories and experiences on the topics requested by our network and hope that FEX readers will enjoy exploring these resources to guide their respective organisations on relevant topics.