NEX 9: Applying the Compendium of Actions for Nutrition - the Haiti experience

By ENN on 22 June 2018

The Compendium of Actions for Nutrition (CAN) is a facilitation resource to help foster multi-sectoral action at the country level, particularly on nutrition-related policy formulation and planning. It includes matrices of multi-sectoral nutrition actions (nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive), which are classified by the type of evidence available for them. Developed by the UN Network Secretariat, in consultation, with both external experts and those in UN agencies, the CAN was published in late 2016 and has since been used by a range of actors at the country level. This podcast delves into the Haiti experience.

Marie-Caroline Dodé, an independent nutrition expert, interviews Agnes Solano, former REACH International Facilitator about how the CAN inspired the development of an advocacy booklet to support nutrition sensitization efforts in-country. The booklet summarises the links between nutrition and various sectors, including: agriculture; health; education; industry and commerce; labour; natural resources; and WASH. Ms. Solano explains how it contextualizes those linkages, and thus how those factors influence the nutrition and food insecurity situation in Haiti. This practical approach makes the booklet suitable for non-technical and ‘non-traditional’ nutrition actors. Ms. Solano also recounts how the CAN-inspired booklet helped to engage journalists in the nutrition arena, empowering them to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition for the good health and well-being of Haitians and the country’s economic development.

For further information about the CAN and access to the various CAN materials (e.g. full document, summary), click here. 

This podcast complements the article “Applying the Compendium of Actions for Nutrition: Experiences from Haiti and Myanmar” published in Nutrition Exchange, issue 9. Listen to the Myanmar experience here.