Long-term solutions are needed to address the malnutrition and food insecurity that affects communities across Africa. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with the support of USAID Advancing Nutrition, launched a regional technical working group, the Learning Network on Nutrition Surveillance (LeNNS), on November 23, 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya. The LeNNS aims to strengthen regional collaboration around diet quality, routine surveillance, nutrition biomarkers, and indicators. The technical working group will promote the generation of timely information and evidence to establish and inform effective policies, strategies, and programs in the region.

The launch is a significant milestone for nutrition in Africa. The taskforce will link policymakers, research institutions, and universities across eight countries, all committed to strengthening nutrition surveillance.

In 2022, USAID Advancing Nutrition conducted a landscape analysis to determine the need for a learning network of this type in the region. We spoke with nutrition stakeholders (including intergovernmental organizations, universities, and research institutions) to build the foundation of a learning network around nutrition surveillance in the region. This led to the formation of a leadership and technical structure of regional organizations dedicated to reducing malnutrition in their communities. USAID Advancing Nutrition will continue to support this effort by providing technical assistance to LeNNS, and by bringing along with it the breadth of the project’s global multisectoral nutrition expertise and products.