Courtesy call at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Photo Courtesy/Dorothy Waweru,Save the Children

By Peter Milo, Advancing Nutrition/Save the Children Kenya and Madagascar.

Addressing malnutrition requires a strategic shift in nutrition workforce development and general population awareness of healthy habits. We know that children are the greatest change agents for themselves and their communities. It is likely that when children adopt the right behaviours regarding healthy diets and living at an early age, they will grow to be responsible citizens and will also influence their families to follow good practices.

To address good nutrition and healthy living, Save the Children, through the USAID Advancing Nutrition project, partnered with the Ministry of Health – Division of Nutrition and Dietetics (MOH DND), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) - Agri-Nutrition Unit, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) - Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to integrate updated nutrition, health, agriculture, and physical education learning content into grades 10–12 (secondary education). This was considered sustainable, as curricula and school interventions endure beyond projects.

Additionally, nutrition workforce training has primarily focused on a curative approach, with many nutritionists receiving training in clinical nutrition. Evidence and the conceptual framework for addressing malnutrition recognize the significance of tackling other immediate causes of malnutrition,including inadequate dietary intake and insufficient household food security and environment. Therefore, adopting a preventive approach is essential. This, in turn, implies that the agriculture, education, water, and sanitation sectors play a crucial role in addressing malnutrition among children, pregnant and lactating women, and the general population. Given this understanding, we needed to redirect our attention to how the nutrition workforce is trained and oriented to work.

In partnership with the national Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) and the county governments of Kakamega, Kisumu, and Kitui, we supported Maseno University and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), specifically the School of Public Health and Nutrition, in reviewing their nutrition programmes and developing new market and industry-oriented nutrition degree programmes: B.Sc. Nutrition and Food Security at Maseno and B.Sc. in Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture at MMUST.

This experience gave us key learning that academia quite often have limited opportunity to interact with practitioners. The multisector nutrition (MSN) approach provided an avenue to interact with nutrition employers and alumni (past students) that provided useful feedback to design new courses. Additionally universities are willing to adapt new courses to meet industry needs, an area that is underutilized.

What did we do?

Cross Learning

• Facilitated learning exchange visit to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Kenya School of Agriculture (KSA) that had main streamed nutrition-sensitive agriculture to their preservice courses.
• Engaged UN-Food and Agricutural Organisation to share experiences from other countries on preservice education with the two.

Stakeholder Engagement on industry needs

• Participation and engagement with county departments of health, agriculture, education, water and sanitation.
•  Feedback sessions with local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), international Non-Governmental Organizations (iNGOs), UN agencies ( FAO, WFP etc).
• Alumni feedback – past graduates, to establish effectiveness of past training and areas of improvement.

Curricula development

• Two curriculum development workshops with university multi-disciplinary teams and schools - nutrition, education & agriculture.
• Small working meetings to finalise curricula drafts.
•  Engagement with University Senate and Council

Accreditation and Approval

• Kenya Nutrition and Dietetics Institute (KNDI)
• Presentation of Curricula to Commission for University Education(CUE)

Admission of new students

• Marketing
• Enroll new students /intake

What did the universities say?

“In the process of attending multi-sectoral nutrition (MSN) sessions, we realized that there is a gap in pre-service training. The graduates we are churning out want to meet the patient in the hospital. We thought that the graduate we need is one who understands that malnutrition is a process, and it starts in the village, not at the hospital.” Advancing Nutrition Endline Assessment Report, 2023.

“The universities, Maseno and Masinde Muliro, came to MSN quite late, but have been key in supporting evidence generation. However, we gained the most as we ended up getting a baby [new course] BSc in NSA and nutrition and food security.” Dr. Rose Shikuri, Chair, Nutrition Department, MMUST.