capital Newspaper
Last week saw the annual reporting and planning workshop, organised by the Coordination Unit of the so called Seqota Declaration Program. Bureaus of the Tigray and Amhara Regions, as well as partner organizations presented their achievements since the declaration came into effect, followed by their next plans and discussions on challenges they face and the way forward. Seqota is a Woreda in the Amhara Region where the effects of under nutrition were so apparent that Government officials who visited the area during a particular time of stress agreed to join hands and work out a multi-sector and multi partner plan with the purpose to bring stunting of children under the age of 2 back to zero by 2030. This is an ambitious goal, to say the least. It literally means that 11 years from now all children in Ethiopia will eat enough nutritious food for their bodies and mind to develop in an optimal way. It means that a sufficient variety of foods will be available that contains all the essential vitamins and micronutrients, including fresh fruits & vegetables, animal sourced proteins and fortified staples. It also means that Ministries, Bureaus, Departments and Development partners indeed need to join hands and plan for and implement activities in a coordinated way. The workshop evidenced the commitment of the participants to make this happen, while they acknowledged the challenges they face and presented ways to address these challenges. So, what exactly does this Seqota Declaration entail? Below I copy the Executive Summary from the Seqota Declaration Innovation Phase Investment Plan 2017 – 2020 for the reader to learn about this ambitious plan and to find out whether it presents opportunities to engage with it.