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التماس الدعم لتنسيق التغذية وإدارة المعلومات والتغذية في حالات الطوارئ
Demander un appui pour la coordination de la nutrition, la gestion de l'information et la nutrition dans les situations d'urgence
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Martha Nakakande is the Global Nutrition Cluster’s CMAM Advisor, and co-chair to its Anti-racism & Localisation Working Group. She has extensive experience delivering Training of Trainers (ToTs) in various nutrition technical areas, including In-patient care, Outpatient care, Coaching and Simplified Approaches.
ToTs are a type of training where participants – local and national actors (LNAs) – are taught how to develop and deliver the training themselves. Participants are then able to conduct training sessions in their region, to their staff, ultimately enabling local actors to lead humanitarian activities in their settings – where they really own the expertise. As a result, ToTs increase the competency of local and national trainers and therefore has an important role in fostering localisation* efforts.
“ToTs are one of the best ways in which LNAs are able to get extensive knowledge within their fields, especially when time and funding are limited. That is because ToTs create a pool of subject-matter individuals who continue to support and ensure better working of the LNAs. The newly trained professionals can ensure greater capacity strengthening in their organisations by cascading the knowledge to all staff. Even if many LNAs are affected by staff turnover, the knowledge remains in the community. And this training provides local actors with an edge to compete with International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs).”
To mark International Education Day, Martha talks about the positive aspects and main challenges of this type of training, and highlights key aspects to consider when organising it.
“ToTs are one of the best ways in which LNAs are able to get extensive knowledge within their fields, especially when time and funding are limited. That is because ToTs create a pool of subject-matter individuals who continue to support and ensure better working of the LNAs. The newly trained professionals can ensure greater capacity strengthening in their organisations by cascading the knowledge to all staff. Even if many LNAs are affected by staff turnover, the knowledge remains in the community. And this training provides local actors with an edge to compete with International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs).”
“ToTs are, overall, great avenues to practise specific skills. These are some of the positive outcomes I would highlight:
“Some aspects to consider are:
What are the main aspects to consider when designing ToTs in NiE contexts?
“We must always consider the full training cycle, from assessment to post training support. These are some aspects that can be key when organising ToTs in a nutrition emergency context:
In May 2023, Martha travelled to Galkacyo (Somalia) to deliver a ToT on In-patient Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition to actors involved in the preparedness and coordination of the nutrition response to emergencies. The feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive. They considered the training a true form of learning exchange, especially because they were taught by staff at the Galkacyo South Hospital Stabilisation centre.
Five months after the training, ToT participant and Sub-cluster Nutrition Manager in Somalia, Aden Mohamed Ali, explains the impact of the training on the ground:
“I have seen the positive impact of the training in Hirshabelle state stabilisation centres. The training has helped improve the knowledge and skills of the staff from local partners and Government on how to conduct effective and participatory training sessions, how to coach and mentor health workers, and how to monitor and evaluate the quality of the training.The training has also contributed to the improvement of the overall performance of these stabilisation centres, such as reducing the mortality rate, increasing the cure rate, and decreasing the default rate. As a trainer and a nutritionist, I believe it has made a difference in the lives of the children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition.”
Alexandra Humphreys is the Interim Localisation Helpdesk for the GNC and co-chairs the Anti-racism & Localisation Working Group with Martha. She is adamant on the importance of prioritising local expertise in nutrition interventions:
“LNAs overwhelmingly carry the risk of humanitarian intervention and the majority of humanitarian deaths are among local staff. Meanwhile, LNAs are the best positioned to provide appropriate aid in most cases, given their access to affected populations and their contextual expertise (knowledge of the local language(s), customs, ways of being, communication channels, existing relationships, and partnerships with nutrition actors and beyond) in addition to technical expertise.
Despite this, LNAs received just 1.2% of direct humanitarian funding in 2021. Donors need to prioritise flexible, multi-year, direct funding to LNAs while making space for LNAs to lead how crises are managed. Only then can LNA operations be more responsive, sustainable, and better funded to provide adequate salaries and benefits for their staff.”
*We acknowledge that the term 'localisation' is an imperfect term that is top-down in nature and will likely be replaced in the future.