Nestlé Nutrition Institute Africa heads new training programme for healthcare professionals in Cameroon

A two-day training programme for healthcare professionals that focused on maternal and infant nutrition was led by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute Africa (NNIA) in Buea, Cameroon, on the 7th and  8th of July 2016.

The Advanced Paediatric Nutrition Course (CANUP) aims to offer nurses, midwives, dieticians and nutrition extension workers an insight on the role of nutrition in the first 1 000 days of life, provide a practical and engaging approach to nutrition, and give them access to current nutritional information and tools.

Nestlé Nutrition experts and keynote healthcare speakers from across the Central Africa region presented on a number of topics during the two-day course. They included maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation; breastfeeding and inappropriate substitutes; complementary feeding; malnutrition; and a focus on the importance of protein and long-term health.

“This maiden edition of the Advanced Paediatric Nutrition Course (CANUP) for paramedical personnel from Central Africa countries aims to foster academic and professional excellence among them and across the French speaking countries of the Continent,” said Pr Ategbo Simon, NNIA scientific board member for Central and West Africa. “Participants who are constantly faced with making nutrition decisions and actions will benefit from the programme by gaining further knowledge and skills on maternal and infant nutrition. It will help them to continue offering high quality service and expertise in their own practices.”

The two-day programme included theoretical and practical lectures, presentations, workshops, role-playing and interactive sessions.

The new training programme was organised in collaboration with the Paediatric Association of Cameroun (SOCAPED), and had participants from Chad, Gabon, and Cameroon. 

After completing the training, participants were encouraged to follow up on the NNIA website and take part in monthly activities to help them keep up-to-date on nutritional information and practices. The new training programme builds on the CANUP course, that has been training paediatricians and medical personnel on infant and maternal nutrition issues across various countries on the continent since 2011.