Helen Keller International Joins Twelve Countries at Nutrition Meeting in Burkina Faso

Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, October 6, 2005 – The Nutrition Focal Points meeting for the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) took place from August 23-25 in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.  Nutrition representatives from twelve ECOWAS member countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) attended, as did representatives from the Academy for Educational Development, Helen Keller International, Micronutrient Initiative, and Tufts University.  Helen Keller International (HKI) provided financial and technical support for the meeting, which was organized by the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO).

The meeting focused on a mid-term review of the Cotonou recommendations and the Alliance to Harness Information Technology for Decision-making and Capacity-building in West Africa proposal.  The Cotonou recommendations came out of the annual ECOWAS Nutrition Forum that took place in September 2004 in Cotonou, Benin; they outline common, pertinent, and appropriate strategies for preventing nutritional problems, particularly those related to HIV/AIDS.  At the Nutrition Focal Points meeting, attendees formulated an action plan matrix to inform country-specific action plans to implement the recommendations.

The Alliance to Harness Information Technology for Decision-making and Capacity-building in West Africa is a joint proposal of HKI, Tulane University Payson Center, and WAHO.  The proposal’s goal is to increase the human resource and institutional capacity of WAHO and its member states to promote health, nutrition, and socio-economic development in West Africa.  Limited and erratic communication technology has made the dissemination of important health and nutrition information a challenge in these countries, which lack not only an information infrastructure, but also a common model for use of the information.  Ric Plaisance, HKI Director of Information Systems, commented, “The need to exchange key nutrition information, observations and status reports is critical, but the obstacles to doing so are immense.  Our work with WAHO and Tulane University will entail concrete steps toward building the communications network that can advance the work of the West African nations in this area.”

Mr. Plaisance and Cheick Sidibé, HKI Africa Regional IT Advisor, presented a plan to ECOWAS nutrition representatives to increase the exchange of information and best practices in blindness and malnutrition prevention over the next three years.  The plan included recommendations to construct a functional virtual network and to distribute CDs with up-to-date information and to secure additional funding to support internet connections.

Attendees at the Nutrition Focal Points meeting in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.