About NIPN

About NIPN

The National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN) supports evidence-based decision making for nutrition. It was launched as a global initiative to support the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement by the European Commission to support countries with a large burden of under nutrition. The initiative is currently implemented in ten countries around the globe.

NIPN Ethiopia

The National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN) was launched in Ethiopia in 2018. The NIPN promotes evidence-based decision making for nutrition and supports the implementation of the National Food and Nutrition Policy.

The NIPN is hosted by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute but works under the national nutrition governance system and collaborates with many multi-sectoral stakeholders of the National Nutrition Program.

The overall guidance to the NIPN is provided by the National Nutrition Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Steering Committee and a high level dedicated multi-sectoral NIPN Advisory Committee. Together, the involvement of these two committees ensures that each step of the NIPN happens in a relevant, appropriate, and timely manner.

Through seminars, webinars, and consultative workshops, the NIPN creates opportunities that bring researchers, nutrition experts, program implementers, and decision-makers together. Thus, promoting a positive environment which provides networking opportunities, allows for informal discussions and sharing of ideas.

The NIPN produces evidence-based analysis to inform national policymakers and program planners and to support their decisions for improved nutrition. It convenes research findings through clear communication and actionable messages.

THE NIPN Operational Cycle

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The NIPN Operational Framework

The NIPN operational cycle consists of the following key functions:

Formulating key policy questions by identifying policy demand for evidence.

Examining available data and evidence to respond to these policy questions.

Establishing a data and knowledge repository, which allows for maximum use of existing data and findings that will be used for further nutrition analysis by a wide set of NIPN stakeholders.

Communicating findings with high-level decision-makers to guide evidence-informed decision making for nutrition policies, programming, and financing.

Communicating with decision-makers

The NIPN research findings are presented as clearly and effectively as possible to ensure that outputs are seen, understood, and acted upon, by their intended audience.

For this reason, NIPN stakeholders engage regularly with decision-makers to ensure that the NIPN analysis and research outputs respond to an actual policy need and are delivered in a timely matter. The NIPN operational process includes an important focus on the policy question formulation.

A nutrition policy-relevant question:

  • Responds to a relevant policy need or decision-maker demand
  • Can be answered using the existing data and technical capacities available to NIPN
  • Provides timely output for policy use
  • Leads to actionable recommendations and decisions