By Foday Moriba Conteh
Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Sierra Leone and its partners concluded a one-day Regional Nutrition-Smart Community Program Symposium on Thursday, 6th March 2024. The symposium held under the theme: “Improving Scalability and Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Security in Africa through Government-Led Policy Reforms,” brought together participants from four African countries: Sierra Leone, Malawi, Burundi and Ethiopia.
The event, hosted at the New Brookfields Hotel in New England Ville, Freetown, focused on the Nutrition-Smart Community Program, a community-driven, multi-sectoral approach to tackling malnutrition. The initiative aims to enhance food and nutrition security, as well as hygiene practices, particularly among children, adolescent girls, breastfeeding mothers and women.
In his welcome address, Octave Emmanuel Bananeza, Country Director, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Sierra Leone, called for greater collaboration in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in Sierra Leone and across Africa. He emphasized the urgency of scaling up interventions to strengthen resilient food systems and combat the growing threat of hunger.
Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Sierra Leone Country Director referenced the findings of the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), which revealed minimal progress in reducing hunger worldwide. The report assigned the world a moderate hunger index score of 18.3, while classifying Malawi, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia as facing serious levels of hunger, with Burundi categorized as alarming, Octave Emmanuel Bananeza revealed. He stressed that climate change, poverty and economic shocks continue to undermine livelihoods, making collective action more urgent than ever.
He further disclosed that since WHH began operations in Sierra Leone in 2003, the organization has prioritized tackling hunger and malnutrition through resilient food systems, nutrition and health programs, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), land rights, biodiversity protection and economic empowerment initiatives. The Nutrition-Smart Community (NSC) Africa Program, funded by the German Government, he pointed out, has yielded promising results across its target countries. According to Octave Emmanuel Bananeza, the percentage of households with sufficient crop variety in their nutrition gardens for at least 10 months per year has risen from 27% to 70%, while sanitation practices have improved from 30% to 60%.
However, he acknowledged that external factors play a significant role in shaping food security outcomes emphasizing the need to scale and sustain interventions by aligning efforts with Government-led policy reforms that focus on agricultural production, market access, value chain strengthening, land rights, climate resilience and governance.
He expressed gratitude to the Government of Germany/BMZ, the Government of Sierra Leone and other donors such as Irish Aid for their commitment to expanding the NSC initiative. Octave Emmanuel Bananeza also acknowledged the dedication of all stakeholders working towards improving nutrition security in the country.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security II, Sahr Hamore, commended Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and its partners for their continued support to vulnerable households through community-driven projects that equip individuals with knowledge, resources and support to enhance food security and nutritional outcomes.
He outlined five key strategic objectives that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is pursuing under the leadership of the Minister, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka to achieve President Julius Maada Bio’s vision of a food-sovereign Sierra Leone. Those, according to him, include import substitution by increasing local food production to reduce dependency on imports, increasing export earnings by making agriculture a major source of foreign exchange and job creation for women and youth by establishing formal jobs with sustainable wages.
Sahr Hamore highlighted the Ministry’s achievements since launching the Feed Salone Strategy Initiative, which aims to boost food production and ensure year-round availability. Among the key milestones, he stated, are the expansion of rice and food crop cultivation to over 30,000 hectares, the initiation of a 4,500-hectare irrigation scheme to support sustainable rice production and the development of over 3,000 hectares of Inland Valley Swamps for rice and food crop cultivation.
He intimated how a $28 million credit facility has been created to provide financial support to farmers and agribusinesses maintaining that the Ministry has introduced digital soil mapping to enhance agricultural productivity, facilitated the establishment of a rice processing center and developed a Food Security Early Warning System to prevent food crises.
Furthermore, according to the Deputy Minister, the Government has launched a biometric National Farmers’ Registry to streamline farmer support programs, ensuring that resources reach those who need them most.
Jens Kraus-Massé, German Ambassador to Sierra Leone, emphasized the critical role of international cooperation in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition, underscoring Germany’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with African nations to address global challenges such as climate change and food security.
“I have never seen a project so directly addressing SDG 2, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture, than this regional initiative,” Ambassador Jens Kraus-Massé stated. He highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts, referencing Germany’s new Africa policy guidelines, which prioritize partnerships between Africa and Germany to solve global problems.
In his keynote address, Andrew L. Sorie, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health underscored the importance of Government-led policy reforms in scaling up food and nutrition security in Sierra Leone. He stressed the need for collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and key stakeholders to strengthen nutrition interventions, particularly for children and vulnerable populations.
Andrew L. Sorie further outlined the Government’s policy and regulatory framework, including the National Nutrition Policy (2023–2030), which provides strategic guidelines for community well-being and food security. In addition, he highlighted ongoing awareness and education programs aimed at promoting nutrition education in schools and communities.
He informed how the Ministry of Health has launched public campaigns to promote breastfeeding, balanced diets and essential micronutrients, and is urging partners to support the operationalization of the Sierra Leone National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.
In his closing remarks, the Permanent Secretary extended his appreciation to all stakeholders for their dedication to advancing food security in Sierra Leone. “On behalf of the Minister of Health, I congratulate you all for your unwavering commitment. Your efforts are essential in shaping a future where no child goes to bed hungry,” he said.
The symposium, attended by policymakers, development partners and agricultural experts, provided a platform for discussing strategies to improve nutrition and food security in Sierra Leone and the broader West African region.
