Nutrition: Saint-Louis wants to strengthen the coordination of nutritional interventions

The Saint-Louis Departmental Nutrition Development Committee (Cddn) held a meeting on Wednesday to evaluate nutritional interventions over the last six months and to strengthen coordination between stakeholders.

Chairing the meeting, the deputy prefect, Abdou Khadre Dieylani Ba, called for collective mobilization to improve the care of vulnerable populations and further integrate nutrition into territorial development policies.

Nutrition remains a major public health and human development issue. In Saint-Louis, administrative authorities and partners intend to strengthen consultation to improve the effectiveness of interventions and meet the needs of the population. In his opening speech, the deputy prefect praised the commitment of the actors involved in promoting nutrition, in particular technical services, community organizations and development partners. “Nutrition constitutes a major public health and human development issue,” recalled Abdou Khadre Dieylani Ba, emphasizing its importance for the growth of children, the health of mothers, the learning abilities and the productivity of populations. Despite the efforts made, challenges persist, particularly in the prevention of malnutrition, the care of vulnerable people and equitable access to essential services. Their resolution requires, according to him, collective mobilization and better articulation of interventions. The meeting made it possible to examine the achievements of nutritional programs, the constraints encountered and the prospects for improvement. Discussions also focused on the Multisectoral Strategic Nutrition Plan (PSMN) 2024-2028, with the objective of identifying the concrete contributions of the different sectors.

Nutrition at the heart of territorial development

Representatives of Helen Keller International, the NGO AGORA, the Dëkkandoo/Plan consortium and Eau Vie Environnement were invited to share their results, difficulties and perspectives. “This meeting thus offers the opportunity to take stock of the interventions carried out over the last six months, to assess the results obtained, to identify the constraints encountered and to formulate concrete recommendations to improve the effectiveness of our actions,” declared the deputy prefect. Abdou Khadre Dieylani Ba also insisted on the consolidation of territorial consultation frameworks, in order to promote the complementarity of interventions and their appropriation by communities. “I also hope that the work will make it possible to consolidate the territorial consultation frameworks and to better integrate nutrition into the policies and development plans of our local authorities,” he underlined.

Participants were thus called upon to formulate recommendations to avoid duplication, better cover unmet needs and strengthen multisectoral coordination.