Kenaw Gebreselassie, Transform Nutrition Communication and Research Uptake Manager based at Save the Children, Ethiopia writes about the call for nutrition champion nominations
Two years ago New York City hosted the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement’s Global Gathering, one of the biggest nutrition events globally that year. Among the exciting events was the honouring of the 2013 Nutrition Champion Award winners. Terry Wefwafwa from Kenya, Banda Ndiaye from Senegal and Luis Enrique Monterroso from Guatemala were the winners. The trio were recognized and honoured for their work improving nutrition in their countries.
That year I asked myself, ‘’where are the nutrition champions from Ethiopia?” And I was thinking Ethiopians who might have attended the Global Gathering in New York; those who might have stood up and given a round of applause for the champions from Kenya and Senegal, would get back home with a similar query: Where are the champions in Ethiopia?’’ None even made it to the shortlist of nominated candidates.
Now, a new call for Nutrition Champions 2015 has been announced. In a bid to find the “unsung heroes” of nutrition, individuals who have transformed thinking and action on nutrition in their localities, Transform Nutrition with support from Save the Children is currently calling for nominations.
At the recent ‘Together for Nutrition’ conference in Ethiopia held in June, the progress this East African Nation has made in improving child and maternal nutrition was praised, its stories of change shared and the drivers behind these positive trends highlighted.
There are many organisations and individuals who should be recognised for their unwavering contribution to these improvements. So we really should name our nutrition heroes of change and recognize their efforts. Let us hope that this year’s Transform Nutrition Champions will include some candidates from Ethiopia.
