On November 7, 2016, SPRING/Sierra Leone and Helen Keller International (HKI) hosted a learning event in Lumley Beach, Sierra Leone, to share findings from three assessments conducted in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone. The three assessments were a barrier analysis and an adapted value chain analysis on fish and pumpkin consumption, and an assessment of a trials of improved practice (TIPs) study on infant feeding behavior and critical hygiene actions in the first 1,000 days.
Attendees included staff from Ministries, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, USAID, district-level and national-level implementing partners, and interested non-governmental organizations. Mrs. Feimata Russell from the Directorate of Food and Nutrition at the Ministry of Health Services gave the welcoming address, during which she thanked HKI and SPRING for their work and emphasized the learning session as an opportunity for partners to work together in the promotion of dietary diversity to improve maternal and child nutrition.
Presentations presented findings from the assessments; shared social behavior change communication (SBCC) activities being implemented in the district that were developed based on the assessment findings; and provided information on the methodologies used so that partners can replicate the assessments for other crops and commodities.
A poster session offered participants the opportunity to spend more time understanding the methodologies and outcomes of the assessments. By sharing results during this learning event, SPRING established a foundational understanding to inform and shape future activities with members of the consortium established to implement Feed the Future’s Sierra Leone Entrepreneurial Agriculture for Improved Nutrition Project.
