NERC

Nepal needs more competent human resources for nutrition, more support for research, and long-term monitoring and evaluation of the food security and nutrition situation. Although food insecurity and undernourishment are still public health problems there, strategies for reducing overnutrition and the risk of diet-related non-communicable diseases are also needed. Detailed, valid data on the dietary intake of the population would help target nutrition policies and programmes for vulnerable groups most effectively. Nutrition researchers and teachers in Nepal need a new valid dietary database to analyse the dietary intake of individuals and population groups in detail. The Nepalese partners also find it crucial to renew their education related to food security, overnutrition, the sovereignty of food, and the sustainability of food systems.

This project aims to improve the capacity for nutrition education and research in Nepalese universities in an inclusive and working-life-relevant way by 1) building a new valid electronic Nepalese dietary database that can be used together with suitable dietary software for calculating the dietary intakes of people in Nepal, 2) strengthening the skills of nutrition teachers, students and working dietitians/nutritionists to collect more valid data on food consumption and dietary intake of people, and to analyse the data using the new dietary database and dietary software, and 3) renewing teaching contents and methods on courses related to food security and the sustainability of food systems.

Four project workers will be employed to build the new dietary database and to train other people to use the database. In addition, at least five teachers will participate in developing the contents and methods of nutrition courses at the partner universities. The project involves mobility of teachers and students between the partner universities.

The project activities will result in a new valid Nepalese dietary database and a better capacity for university teachers to teach dietary measurement methods, food security and sustainability of food systems in Nepal. This will lead to more capacity for nutrition research, better-quality dietary data, and more knowledge on food security and sustainable food systems in Nepal. This results in a better understanding of the nutrition situation of the different population groups, and health risks related to malnutrition, which helps plan well-targeted, sustainable, and more effective food and nutrition policies and programmes in Nepal. In the long term, this will improve the food security and nutrition situation of the population and the sustainability of the food system in Nepal.

Key results to be achieved:

1. We will first renew courses related to food security, sustainability of food systems, dietary measurement methods, and dietary calculations. This includes the development of the new Nepalese dietary database. We will then strengthen the capacity of the teachers at the partner university and some other universities in Nepal by training them to teach these renewed courses. These outputs will lead to strengthened educational and institutional capacity of the partner university and other universities in Nepal in providing working-life-relevant higher education in nutrition.

2. The teachers from the partner university will be able to use improved pedagogical methods and new content in their courses. The use of the new dietary database and software in calculating energy and nutrient intakes of individuals in clinical work and in research projects will be expanded. Access to higher education for students with vulnerable backgrounds will be improved. These outputs will lead to improved quality of nutrition education and research capacity of the partner university and other universities that provide nutrition education in Nepal.