Regional training seminar on the adaptation of feeding recommendations for the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) Dakar Senegal July 7-26 1997.

This report pertains to a consultant visit during July 7-26 1997 to Dakar Senegal for the purpose of assisting with the training of health professionals from Francophone West African countries. Health personnel were trained to adapt feeding recommendations for young children in the implementation of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy. A workshop for training facilitators was held the week before the seminar. During that week the 8 modules of the curriculum were revised. The curriculum was based on a "Protocol for Adapting Feeding Recommendations" which is issued by the World Health Organization with its IMCI guidelines. The curriculum was also based on "Designing by Dialogue: A Program Planners Guide to Consultation Research for Improving Young Child Feeding" which was prepared by the Manoff Group and the SARA project for USAIDs Health and Human Resources Analysis for Africa. The modules focused on the synergistic relationship between malnutrition and mortality; nutrition within IMCI; research for effective behavioral change; design and planning of research to adapt feeding recommendations in IMCI; application of Trials of Approved Practices (TIPs) for adapting feeding recommendations; validation of results from TIPs; and participant observations. Seminar participants included 23 people from 9 countries and 2 from Morocco. 18 completed the seminar and were practicing the research in the field. The large seminar size constrained in-depth training. Participants found the methods useful in developing nutrition education. Lessons learned are identified.