Since NAFSAN’s Urban Gardening and Nutrition Project in 2020, we have been developing a comprehensive and highly participatory training on “Nutrition for Health – Embracing our Namibian Food Systems”, which includes a manual for facilitators, flipcharts/slides, other facilitation tools and informative handouts for participants.

With strong financial and technical support from GIZ Namibia’s Farming-for-Resilience (F4R) Project and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR), the University of Namibia (UNAM), the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and with the involvement of UNICEF, WHO and WFP, this innovative training approach was tested, piloted and finalised, with the first groups of facilitators having been successfully trained in March 2023.

Since May 2023, over 120 community members from the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia in Omaheke and Otjozondjupa were trained by NAFSAN with support from the EU and a grant from the Namibian Chamber of Environment. Between June and August 2023, GIZ-F4R and MAWLR together with local CSOs, trained over 100 more N4H-Facilitators and through them, reached over 1,200 Namibians, with the specific impact of these trainings to be measured by GIZ-F4R.

By July 2024, we managed to secure sufficient funding to efficiently print all the Nutrition-for-Health training materials, which will begin to be used to train about 140 Community Healthcare Workers in Omaheke, Kunene and Khomas regions in close collaboration with MoHSS and , thanks to the generous support from the World Health Organisation and the Government of Japan. In this regard, we also like to thank the European Union and the Capricorn Foundation.

The four key areas covered in this training are:

1) Nutrition & Malnutrition,

2) Food Groups & Healthy Eating,

3) Right Start for Our Children, and

4) Food Systems & Cycles.

NAFSAN aims to reach over one million Namibians (> 40% of the population) by 2026, through the implementation of this training at community-level across the country by its member organisations and in partnerships with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, with support from international partners and local businesses.

In support of future implementation, NAFSAN also plans to establish a Nutrition Hotline for all N4H-trainers and the general public.

Why is Nutrition-for-Health important?

As Namibia is suffering the triple-burden of malnutrition, with almost ¼ of all children under five years being stunted, leading to annual losses of ± 11 billion NAD (= 5.22% of GDP), according to Namibia’s COHA study, there is an urgent need for better knowledge, awareness and practices around nutrition.

This comprehensive training approach brings together nutrition (health) & food security (agriculture) aspects in very participatory ways to bring information, awareness and positive behaviour changes to families, communities and  workplaces – including home gardening.

The first Trainings-for-Facilitators (T4F) took place in 2023, and we are currently looking for strategic partnerships to provide more T4Fs for government and non-governmental organisations to implement this approach across Namibia as a key step towards greater Food and Nutrition Security in Namibia; and over one million Namibians can be reached by 2026.

Some of the images and other content of this locally developed material is ideal for being used in upcoming National Campaigns on Anti-Stunting, Malnutrition, First 1,000 Days etc.