African Nutrition Graduate Students Network Report

1
African Nutrition Graduate Students Network Report

• To the Capacity Development Working Group of the
  33rd SCN
• March 15, 2006

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
2
AGS-Net Objective

• building social capacity by
• developing relations and networks
• building the appropriate attitudes and values
• developing organizational skills
• building trust amongst members
• Exchanging ideas, information and knowledge
• providing a unified front to improving nutrition
  on the continent

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
3
AGS-Net Membership

• Feb 2004
• 49 members
• From 17 countries
• Studying in 22 countries

• Feb 2006
• 133 members
• From 25 countries
• Studying in 42 institutions

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
4
Inaugural Conference
AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
5
Inaugural Conference

• Sponsors
• UNU Food and Nutrition Program
• International Nutrition Foundation (INF)
• GTZ
• Cornell University
• Universite Cheick Anta Diop, Senegal
• Wageningen University
• Southampton University

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
6
Inaugural Conference
AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
7
AGS-Net Activities

• Managing a database
• Operating a web-based discussion
• Confronting primary literature use in Africa
• Liaising with institutions to provide access to
  journals
• Sharing program related information not found in
  journals
• Sharing of information
• Fellowships
• Job opportunities
• internships
• Organizing biennial Conferences to consolidate
  the web-based discussions (next in May, 2007)
• Complementing other CB in Africa such as ANLP

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
8
AGS-Net Challenges

• Continuity and Sustainability
• Leadership
• Financial considerations
• Strategies
• Recruitment
• Maintenance

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
9
Renewed Call for Support

• Concentrate on developing networking,
  organizational skills, values, and attitudes
• Getting literature
• Encourage the hiring of local and/or regional
  African professionals to work in African
  countries
• Provide internship for nutrition graduate
  students
• Call for mentorship (consultancies and
  professional development) by pairing young and
  senior nutritionists.

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa
10
Thank you.

• http//www.unu.edu/capacitybuilding/foodnutrition/
  ags-net/index

AFRICAN GRADUATE NUTRITION STUDENTS
NETWORK Contributing together to better health
and nutrition in Africa