Africa RISING in the Ethiopian Highlands Pathways to improved nutrition in the Ethiopian highlands Kalpana Sharma, Zelalem Lema, Tesfaye Hailu, Kindu Mekonnen, Mariama Fofanah Introduction In the Ethiopian highlands, nutritionally-deficient food production and consumption patterns threaten nutrition security, especially for vulnerable women and children. Despite encouraging progress in strengthening nutrition policies and improving nutritional outcomes, under-nutrition remains a significant public health problem in Ethiopia; in 2014, stunting, wasting and underweight of children under five were estimated at 40%, 20% and 9% (Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2014). Although Ethiopia recognized the problem and set clear goals under the National Nutrition Program, local implementation remains weak. Evaluating and identifying current challenges will help mainstream nutrition into existing food production systems and ensure access to nutritious foods. Findings Agricultural Pathways Limited knowledge about diversified crop production system to nutrition Limited research on soil health and bio-fortification No strategies to cope with adverse environmental changes Lack of diversified or nutrition-sensitive farming systems Lack of expertise and experience in nutrition-sensitive value chain Inadequate access to and availability of food Policy and Institutional Issues Low level of commitment on nutrition sensitive interventions Poor nutrition advocacy support Budget constraints Weak coordination among key actors Key sectors lack technical expertise and knowledge Women lack decision-making power Dietary Practices Low dietary diversity, diets lack essential micronutrients Inadequate consumption of animal-source proteins Lack essential micronutrients in child diets Recommendations Agricultural Pathways Develop short advocacy briefs to highlight the importance of production diversification Promote bio-fortification to enhance nutritional value of crop/livestock Increase the availability of animal-source foods Establish nutrition kitchen gardens Assess the feasibility of nutrition-sensitive value chain approaches Identify suitable postharvest technologies facilities to minimize losses Policy and Institutional Issues Develop advocacy briefs to highlight the role of agriculture in improving nutrition Conduct public awareness on nutrition sensitive agriculture. Assign nutrition champions to strengthen coordination between agriculture and health extension workers Design training and behavior change materials with key messages relevant for nutrition sensitive agriculture for the different actors. Jointly train woreda experts, DAs, HEWs and members of IP Dietary Practices Promote production and dietary diversification to increase availability of animal-source & vitamin A rich food Promote nutrition education and behavior change strategies using multiple communication tools and platforms Integrate gender-sensitive approaches across initiatives to better maximize nutrition impact. Framework adapted from Feed the Future that shows agriculture, income and gender as main pathways to improve nutrition Research methodology Nutrition research was conducted to assess the overall nutrition status of participating and non-participating farmers in Basona and Sinana woredas. Using a household questionnaire administered to 240 households of mothers with children under five, the following key indicators are evaluated: i. Nutrition status of children under five, ii. Household and individual dietary diversity, iii. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAPS) influencing nutrition across various platforms of targeted population, iv. Food security and v. Livestock and crop diversification production patterns. Additionally, desk research on the national nutrition program policy document, the growth and transformation plan, national strategy for child survival, national strategy for infant feeding, food security strategy, as well as focused group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted. This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence February 2016