ADDIS ABABA – August 29, 2024 (NIPN/EPHI) - National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN-Ethiopia) says it is committed to boosting efforts to advance initiatives and achieve the objectives of the Resource Tracking and Partnership Management (RTPM) tool for the Seqota Declaration (SD), with financial support from Results for Development (R4D).
NIPN-Ethiopia has clearly communicated through its RTPM project lead and Research Advisor, Dr. Anbissa Muleta, that it would play a pivotal role in the national efforts being made to achieve the primary objectives of the RTPM. “NIPN-Ethiopia, as a technical support of RTPM, is committed to ensuring efficient resource utilization, diligent supervision and cost control, including strict adherence to project timelines,” he said.
Dr. Anbissa stated, in an exclusive interview with NIPN’s Communications Officer, that NIPN-Ethiopia would continue to technically support and facilitate “better coordination among the multiple nutrition stakeholders involved in implementing the Seqota Declaration in subnational regional administrations”.
According to Dr. Anbissa, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and NIPN-Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH), conducted 10 training events across all subnational regional administrations and city administrations, with the exception of Addis Ababa and Central Ethiopia. These training sessions targeted sectors, academia, focal persons for the SD, and partners such as World Vision, Action Against Hunger, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the Hunger Project that has been engaged in the Right to Grow.
He further mentioned that the RTPM training sessions conducted on various occasions were financed by R4D. According to Dr. Anbissa, the implementation of the RTPM tool in Ethiopia for the SD involves a combination of strategies, including workshops, training programs, technical support, monitoring and evaluation. NIPN-Ethiopia, in collaboration with the EPHI, the technical arm of the MoH, is working diligently to facilitate the implementation of the aforementioned strategies, Anbissa further stated.
Components of the RTPM tool for the SD include monitoring and managing the budget, time, human resources, and partnerships. Regarding partnership management, the RTPM involves establishing, maintaining, and optimizing relationships with various stakeholders, including partners, suppliers, and collaborators. Furthermore, RTPM tracks expenditures to ensure their alignment with the allocated budget and monitor the time spent on various tasks to optimize productivity. NIPN/EPHI helps achieve mutually beneficial outcomes and facilitate smooth collaboration among stakeholders, Anbissa said.
According to Dr. Anbissa, the RTPM tool for SD was developed and launched in December 2020 to enhance the coordination and monitoring of resources and partnerships involved in this multi-sectoral effort. The RTPM ensures that resources (financial and human) are allocated effectively to various programs and initiatives under the SD. It also promotes transparency in the use and management of resources, making it easier to track funding sources, expenditures, and outcomes. Anbissa further stated that RTPM provides, among other things, accurate and timely data to inform decision-making processes, enabling evidence-based adjustments to strategies and interventions. (NIPN/EPHI).
