PRESEC staff trained on SNV Sustainable Nutrition for All approach
From 29 January to 3 February, PRESEC project staff and partners were trained on the SNV approach to improve people’s nutritional behaviour and nutrition status, Sustainable Nutrition for All (SN4A). Almost thirty people made up of PRESEC staff (from project partners SNV, CADEPI and APROSPEN), representatives from the regional ministry for health and representatives from different media attended the training.
The workshop aimed to increase project staff’s knowledge of the SNV SN4A approach, make sure they use the proper methodology and the programme meets the expected standards. During the workshop, the project staff were trained on the use of the SN4A tools to implement activities to help families to overcome malnutrition and to facilitate the creation of a consultation framework.
The opening ceremony with representatives from all partner organisations
The SNV Sustainable Nutrition for All approach
The PRESEC project will use the SNV SN4A approach to promote food and nutrition security. The methodology has been proven effective in the SN4A project in Uganda and Zambia. "Using this SN4A approach, we can achieve the same results in Cameroon as in other countries because the contexts are similar." stressed Carolin Gabriel Tchouape, the PRESEC project's nutrition and food security advisor, during the media interview that took place after the training.
Malnutrition has many causes and a multi-sectoral approach is needed to reduce its prevalence. SN4A is a scalable solution that puts women and mothers at the heart of improving nutrition at the household level. The approach is based on the real experience that access to nutritious foods alone is not sufficient to improve people’s nutrition status. "We thought for a long time that food availability could solve the problem, but reality has proven this to be untrue. The SN4A programme has four pillars that are implemented in complementary way. First, the creation of demand; second, the promotion of diversified production; third, triggering behaviour change, and; fourth nutrition sensitive governance to support the impact of the programme." Carolin Gabriel Tchouape stated.
Introducing the SN4A methodology
A role play to test the SN4A methodology
Interviews with journalists and radio coverage
During the training, PRESEC's technical team also attended the broadcasts of several community radio stations such as Radio Salaaman and FM Demsa to promote and raise awareness of the importance of the SNV SN4A approach. There also was a strong presence journalists from different television stations, such as Canal 2 International, Vision 4, DBS TV, 7 News and print media, such as Cameroon Tribune, L' oeil du Sahel and Le Quotidien Emergence.
SNV staff give interviews to radio stations about the PRESEC project
SNV staff give an interview to TV media about the PRESEC project
Action plans and governance frameworks
After the six-day training workshop, the eleven community facilitators working within the PRESEC framework in collaboration with the Heads of Public Health Districts were invited to provide their various action plans and proposed governance frameworks to support implementation of the SN4A programme in the targeted eleven communities in the Adamaoua, North and Far North region.