To support capacity building, training, technical support initiatives and enhanced coordination in the East Africa region, SMART maintains a local presence through its Nairobi-based office. The regional SMART team works directly with Assessment Working Groups (AWG) to strengthen the technical capacity of public health professionals in the SMART methodology across the region, notably in Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
For more information, please contact Lydia Ndung’u at lndungu@actioncontrelafaim.ca.
A History of SMART in East Africa
SMART East Africa was established in November 2013 to work with country level structures such as National level health, surveillance, information management and food security working groups to share information, promote SMART and support their technical SMART needs.
SMART East Africa was officially launched at the Nutrition Core Group Meeting, which exists within the Regional Food Security and Nutrition Working Group managed by UNICEF, Action Against Hunger and FAO. To ensure transparency in decision making and identify key priority areas, a mapping of regional country needs and demands regarding SMART was carried out at the beginning of the project.
As the representative of SMART to all nutrition agencies in the region, SMART East Africa aims to:
- Build SMART capacity in the region by organizing trainings and other capacity building events for INGOs, national NGOs, multilateral organizations, and, most notably, government departments working in nutrition and health.
- Provide technical guidance and support in developing survey protocols and assisting in anthropometry training needs for National-level surveys, while engaging with a range of regional consortia and coordination groups.
From 2013 to 2016, SMART East Africa organized 16 trainings in six different countries, and participated in the first ever National SMART Survey in Tanzania. The final survey results can be found here. In this period, SMART East Africa also organized a multi-agency East Africa Region SMART Meeting (to read the report, click here).
Relaunch of SMART in East Africa
After a brief period of inactivity in the region, the relaunch of SMART in East Africa in April 2018 was made possible through a partnership between the SMART Global Team and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Our new SIDA funded project has allowed us to reaffirm our presence in this region in order to build capacity and support an assortment of East Africa agencies.
The identification and participation of MOH personnel is prioritized to ensure availability of SMART capacity at national and local governmental levels. Other support given includes nutrition information support, technical support for SMART national surveys, IPC support, data clinics and assistance in accessing the SMART technical tools.
Timeline of SMART in East Africa
