EMPOWERING NEW GENERATIONS TO IMPROVE NUTRITION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES (ENGINE) PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION PROJECT OUTCOME DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP

The project's pre-service education component, which ran from September 2011 to July 2016, focused on strengthening nutrition pre-service education and in-service training at 13 higher education institutions in four regions of Ethiopia. Key project achievements included the definition of two nutrition core competencies for health and agriculture cadres, revision of 98 syllabi for nutrition content at both health and agriculture disciplines, and integration of two new nutrition courses into the ATVET curriculum at levels 1 and 3 for crop production, livestock, and natural resource cadres. The project also established an Academic Center of Excellence for Nutrition at Hawassa University College of Agriculture, provided essential skills lab material support, and improved the quality of education, contributing to a significant increase in national COC pass rates. The project's training programs for instructors in nutrition technical competency and pedagogy enabled the effective facilitation of nutrition courses and created a large pool of nutrition trainers. Additionally, the project strengthened in-service nutrition training through the development of a nutrition program management training package and contributed to the development of Blended Integrated nutrition learning material. The ENGINE project faced several challenges during implementation, including the unavailability of most skills lab materials, which hindered the creation of an enabling environment for nutrition skill teaching. Despite these challenges, the project made significant progress in strengthening nutrition pre-service education and in-service training, contributing to improved nutritional status and economic opportunities for new generations. The project's outcomes were presented at a workshop held on June 9, 2016, at the Elilly International Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop brought together over 60 participants from project-supported institutions, government stakeholders, and nutrition partners to disseminate the project's outcomes and hand over the pre-service education activities to project-supported institutions. The workshop featured keynote addresses from representatives of Jhpiego, Save the Children, USAID, and the Federal Ministry of Health, highlighting the project's achievements and challenges. The ENGINE project's success in strengthening nutrition pre-service education and in-service training has contributed significantly to the improvement of nutritional status and economic opportunities for new generations in Ethiopia. The project's outcomes and lessons learned will serve as a model for future initiatives aimed at addressing malnutrition and hunger in the country.