Africa Regional Office

En français

The Regional Office, based in Dakar Senegal, provides guidance for all the activities in the country offices. The Regional Office houses technical advisors to provide oversight for multi-country initiatives and is instrumental in implementing activities relating to these initiatives. The Regional Office also works with other regionally-based organizations to consolidate efforts in the field and provide the best support for each project.

For example, HKI is currently conducting a major program to ensure sustained vitamin A supplementation (VAS) in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. HKI is partnering with UNICEF and is receiving funding from CIDA and MI to support activities in these countries. In February 2005, HKI and UNICEF signed a global Memorandum of Understanding to serve as a framework for joint efforts to combat malnutrition, including elimination of vitamin A deficiency and other micronutrient deficiencies, and to combat blindness. The goal of the current program is to support country-driven plans to sustain current achievements and provide additional coverage of vitamin A supplements, as National Immunization Days (NIDs) to eradicate polio are phased out. The program will enable HKI to increase capacity, expand the reach of current vitamin A programming, and enable VAS over a broader geographic area.

Another program benefitting from techn ical guidance from the Regional Office is HKI’s integration of community-based therapeutic care (CTC) to treat malnutrition into its existing prevention programs in 3 Sahelian countries: Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. HKI helped develop the national protocols for management of acute malnutrition, trained health staff and community volunteers; strengthened the health system for acute malnutrition management for its project areas.

HKI also spearheads the regional food fortification initiative in West Africa to combat nutritional deficiencies through mandatory fortification of cooking oil and wheat flour with essential vitamins and minerals throughout the eight-nation Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) .

In partnership with the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) and Tulane University, HKI enhanced the technological capacity of the Ministries of Health, National Blindness Control coordinators, and government partners within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 15 member countries. The program aimed to improve communication and information sharing about nutrition programs and relevant research through workshops, training, the provisions of computers, and ongoing support from an IT team.

For more information about specific activities in each of the countries, please browse the navigation bar at left.

Key Staff

• Shawn Baker, M.P.H. - Regional Director for Africa
• Marianne Flach - Deputy Regional Director for West Africa
• Dora Panagides - Deputy Regional Director for Central, Eastern and Southern Africa
• Kenneth Brown, M.D.- Regional Advisor for Nutrition and Child Survival
• Norbert Fokun, M.A. - International Field Accountant and Regional Finance Officer
• Josiane Johnson - Executive Assistant
• Svenja Jungjohann - Regional Community Therapeutic Care Coordinator
• Mawuli Sablah - Regional Fortification Coordinator
• Cheick Sidibe - Regional IT Advisor
• Sara Wuehler , PhD- Nutrition Project Coordinator
• Sara Zalman - Regional Communications Officer