Posts Tagged: “Shawn Baker”

Canadian Government Invests in the Power of Agriculture to Improve Nutrition

June 13, 2013 | Posted by Shawn Baker
EHFP_1

Women Farmers in Fada N'Gourma, Burkina Faso, at a training nursery where orange-fleshed sweetpotato and other nutritious crops are being grown.

I also observed firsthand how bringing technical expertise to small-holder women farmers could be transformational – building on their traditional knowledge about gardening and allowing them to develop more skills and generate increased income.

It is very moving, this April, 19 years after having joined HKI, to sign this new grant with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). more…

(0) Comments
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

Cape Verde: Leading the Way to Good Nutrition in West Africa

January 3, 2013 | Posted by Shawn Baker

What’s the protocol for visiting a former head of state? In Cape Verde, our delegation walked up to his door, knocked, and President Monteiro himself greeted us. This typifies the graciousness and modesty that he has shown in all of our interactions.

more…

(4) Comments
Tags: , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

10 Years On: Food Fortification in West Africa

September 21, 2012 | Posted by Jennifer Klopp

By Shawn Baker, HKI’s Vice President and Regional Director for Africa.

Two weeks ago, I arrived in Abidjan from Dakar in early evening. Passport control, retrieving luggage and getting out of the airport took only minutes. Hassle-free. In the past there would have been aggravations at each stage. This set the tone for most of my visit – after 10 years of political crisis and a contested election that resulted in weeks of warfare – Abidjan is back!  more…

(0) Comments
Tags: , , ,
Categories Africa, Preventing Blindness, Reducing Malnutrition

Becoming “Mr. Helen Keller”

September 5, 2012 | Posted by Shawn Baker
Shawn Baker describes being interviewed for "Francophone Africa's CNN" about HKI’s West Africa-wide food fortification initiative.
africable_tv

By Shawn Baker, HKI’s Vice President and Regional Director for Africa.

“Bonjour Monsieur Helen Keller” (“Good morning Mister Helen Keller”) greeted me this week on my morning run on the beach in Dakar. Several text messages and e-mails from friends and colleagues saying they had seen me on television came in later that day. I then realized that Africable was at it again – spreading the word about HKI’s work across French-speaking Africa.

HKI’s relationship with Africable started in 2010. This television station based in Bamako, Mali is positioning itself as the CNN equivalent of Francophone Africa. As part of their celebration of 50 years of independence of many countries in Africa, they organized a regional media tour to celebrate African integration and HKI’s West Africa-wide food fortification initiative was highlighted. Through that partnership, millions of households were informed about the benefits of essential vitamins and minerals being added to cooking oil and wheat flour, through interviews and engaging commercials like this one.

more…

(0) Comments
Tags: ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

Connecting Nutrition and Neglected Tropical Diseases

July 20, 2012 | Posted by Shawn Baker
HKI experts make the case to include nutritional interventions in programs that treat NTDs.
Cameroon Drug Distribution

HKI’s Shawn Baker, Yaobi Zhang, and Chad MacArthur recently contributed to an article on the role of nutrition in controlling Neglected Tropical Diseases published in the journal, BMC Medicine. Below is a blog about the article, which originally appeared on BioMed Central Blog, that argues this research could have major implications for the way NTD programs are delivered in the future.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of poverty-associated chronic infectious diseases, which are endemic in poor and rural populations in the developing countries of Africa, America and Asia. NTDs affect over 1.4 billion people worldwide and cause severe morbidity and mortality; their impact in sub-Saharan Africa is comparable to malaria or tuberculosis. The diseases, which include river blindness, leprosy and intestinal worms, are transmitted by insect bites or worms in the soil, and are easily spread in areas with poor sanitation.

more…

(1) Comment
Tags: , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

A Nutrition Cliff-Hanger in Geneva!

June 1, 2012 | Posted by Maggie Jacoby
WHA

This is the second blog post from Shawn Baker, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, about his attendance at the 65th World Health Assembly last week to advocate for maternal, infant and young child nutrition. 

We were all holding our breath waiting to find out the outcome of the Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) comprehensive implementation plan. So much of what HKI promotes is central to this plan, so it was critical that the resolution be passed. It was a real cliff-hanger – but in the final hours of Friday’s debates at the 65th World Health Assembly the plan was adopted unanimously – a real victory for nutrition and the timing couldn’t be better.

more…

(1) Comment
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

Advocating for Nutrition on the Shores of Lake Geneva

May 29, 2012 | Posted by Maggie Jacoby
© WHO/Pierre Albouy

This blog post was written by Shawn Baker, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, about his attendance at the 65th World Health Assembly last week to advocate for maternal, infant and young child nutrition. 

I arrived in the Geneva airport on a bright Sunday morning and an hour later greeted António Monteiro, former President of Cape Verde, and the West Africa Nutrition Advocate. He has joined HKI colleagues and me, and other partners working to improve nutrition, to attend the 65th World Health Assembly that will include a side event on acute malnutrition.

The World Health Assembly takes place in the majestic Palais des Nations, situated in a stunning park overlooking Lake Geneva. The grandeur of the Palais des Nations seems far removed from the front-lines of fighting malnutrition in Africa.

more…

(0) Comments
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

Promoting Nutrition to Parliamentarians

April 30, 2012 | Posted by Maggie Jacoby
HKI's Vice President and Regional Director for Africa makes that case for investing in nutrition
Vitamin A Supplementation

This blog post was written by Shawn Baker, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, about his recent participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 126th Assembly in Kampala, Uganda.

First Ladies, Members of Parliament, a former Head of State – it is not often that you get to speak about nutrition to such an audience. I had the privilege of joining the West African Nutrition Advocate, the former President of Cape Verde, in Kampala, Uganda for the 126th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in early April.

more…

(1) Comment
Tags: ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

HKI responds to East Africa Crisis

August 11, 2011 | Posted by Maggie Jacoby

This post was written by Shawn Baker, HKI’s vice president and regional director for Africa.

Arriving in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, it is hard to imagine the gravity of the food and nutrition crisis hitting the Horn of Africa region. Nairobi is a bustling commercial hub for all of East Africa and seems far removed from the horrific images from Somalia and other affected countries. But reading the newspapers and working with partners such as the Kenyan Ministry of Health, UNICEF, World Food Program and Save the Children – you are quickly caught up in the urgency of the response. Nairobi is home to many of the agencies responding to the crisis in Kenya, and most organizations that are working in Somalia also base their operations here. more…

(0) Comments
Tags: , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition

A Key Advocate for Better Nutrition in West Africa

July 21, 2011 | Posted by Maggie Jacoby
President Monteiro

This post was written by Shawn Baker, HKI’s vice president and regional director for Africa.

Nutrition is truly an adventure – and you end up doing so many things that you never even imagined when getting training at university. This last week has been a huge privilege, engaging for four days with one of the most respected statesmen of West Africa, President António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro (photo at left), former head of state of Cape Verde, to discuss the issues of undernutrition in West Africa.

more…

(3) Comments
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories Africa, Reducing Malnutrition