Nestlé builds capacity for health professionals

Nestlé is helping to train African paediatricians and healthcare professionals on gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition to boost their competences.

Health professionals in Central and West Africa are undergoing a number of training programmes, scientific symposiums, conferences and workshops covering topics that are related to maternal and infant nutrition and health.

A statement from Nestlé copied to the GNA said the company is doing this through the Nestlé Nutrition Institute Africa (NNIA), which is part of the Nestlé Nutrition Institute (NNI).

The NNI is a non-profit organisation that offers a variety of on- and offline unbranded educational services to healthcare professionals with a focus on the first 1,000 days of life from conception to the child’s second birthday.

In Central and West Africa, a significant shortage of qualified healthcare professionals impacts on the countries’ ability to fight disease and provide essential, life-saving interventions.

By investing in their training and education, Nestlé aims at building the healthcare professionals’ capacity in nutrition and develop strong networks of professional experts.

The NNIA is a nutrition resource for healthcare professionals in Africa and a multi-disciplinary educational organisation dedicated to the science of nutrition on the continent.

In 2014, about 6,500 healthcare professionals were trained through NNIA activities. Nearly 9,000 of them are also registered on its website.

The NNIA collaborates with professional associations and healthcare institutions across the region, and supports scientists through annual scientific awards with award money invested into research.

It also offers short and middle term scholarships to healthcare professionals in public health nutrition.

As part of NNIA’s activities, the annual CWAR Advanced Nutrition Workshop (CANUP) brings together healthcare professionals such as doctors and pediatricians from all over Central and West Africa.

The CANUP workshop, organised in both English and French-speaking countries, shares resources, research and training on maternal and infant nutrition based on the latest scientific data.

Since 2011, a total of 275 pediatricians have received training, who in turn, went on to train about 3,000 other healthcare professionals.

This year, Nestlé piloted the first NNIA International Course in Applied Nutrition aimed at nurses and midwives from English-speaking countries in Central and West Africa.

The Course aims at providing them with the practical nutrition knowledge and the latest evidence-based nutrition related topics for use in their daily roles.

Topics include the importance of nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life and long-term health.

After this successful pilot, Nestlé is considering rolling out the course to French-speaking countries in the region next year.

The NNIA, in collaboration with the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, also offers postgraduate training to African paediatricians on gastroenterology and nutrition.

It aims at boosting the number of trained paediatrics in the areas of expertise, who would then extend the knowledge to other healthcare professionals.