The 2024 National Nutrition Dissemination Forum took place on July 17th, 2024, in Lusaka, Zambia. The forum was organized by the USAID-funded, Khulisa-led Scaling Up Nutrition Learning and Evaluation (SUN LE) project in collaboration with the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC), and was attended by 104 participants from government ministries, cooperating partners, implementing partners, media, and academia.
The event aimed to disseminate findings from several recently completed studies and surveys, including:
- The 2022 Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)/First 1000 Most Critical Days Programme (MCDP) II Midline Survey, funded by USAID;
- The SMART surveys, funded by UNICEF and GIZ;
- The Nutrition Expenditure Review, funded by UNICEF; and
- The National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the World Bank, and UNICEF.
The proceedings began with welcoming remarks from NFNC Executive Director Dr. Muntanga Mapani, who emphasized the importance of the forum for disseminating research findings and fostering collaboration among stakeholders. Dr. Mapani also highlighted Zambia’s critical transition toward leading its nutrition programs while cooperating partners repurpose their funds.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Kenneth Lishimpi, Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Ministry of Health, who highlighted key findings from the recent surveys, including high levels of anemia and the importance of the SUN/MCDP II midline survey and SMART survey results.
Following the keynote address, key findings from various studies were presented:
- Dr. Mary Lubungu, Senior Researcher at Indaba Agricultural Policy and Research Institute, a SUN LE consortium partner, presented the SUN/MCDP II Midline Survey results.
- Ms. Belinda Tshiula from NFNC presented the findings from the SMART surveys conducted in six provinces.
- Dr. Chisela from NFNC, Mr. Bwalya Sachi from the Ministry of Finance, and Ms. Ruth Siyandi from UNICEF presented the findings from Nutrition Expenditure Review.
The forum also included multiple Q&A sessions and feedback from representatives of several Zambian government ministries.
Following the national dissemination forum, SUN LE collaborated with the NFNC and SUN/MCDP II stakeholders to orient the national-level facilitators who are facilitating the dissemination of the results in district/provincial workshops between July 22nd and August 9th, 2024. The national facilitator orientation took place on July 18th and 19th; a total of 18 participants from SUN/MCDP II stakeholders attended.
The national and subnational dissemination forums are part of USAID support to enhance Zambia’s achievement of its goal of reducing child stunting and other forms of malnutrition through the use of evidence and collaborative learning and adaptive management.
