Dr. Adelheid Onyango

Nutrition Advisor, Regional Office for Africa WHO, Republic of Gongo

Dr Adelheid Onyango was appointed Director of the Universal Health Coverage / Healthier Populations group in April 2021. Dr Onyango joined WHO at its headquarters in Geneva in 1998. For over 16 years, she has contributed to normative work WHO on Growth and Nutrition. She joined WHO regional office in 2014 to lead the nutrition and food safety program. In this role, she has helped build strong inter-agency partnerships for nutrition across Africa. She has devoted more than 20 years of service in the field of public health and international nutrition. Dr Adelheid Onyango holds a BA in Education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi and an MA and PhD in Nutrition from McGill University in Canada.

    10:00 –11:00 AM

    02 Sept Thursday

    SESSION 2: OVERVIEW OF THE STATE OF MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN AFRICA WITH A FOCUS ON ANAEMIA

    - Overview of the state of micronutrient deficiencies in Africa, Dr. Adelheid Onyango, Nutrition Advisor, Regional Office for Africa, WHO

    - Why has anemia been so difficult to address? Can the perspective of food system contribute and if so how?, Dr. Namukolo Covic, Senior Research Coordinator CGIAR Programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), IFPRI, President, African Nutrition Society

    - Prevalence of Anemia deficiency in West Africa: What is the current state?,Dr. Namoudou Keita, Head of Nutrition, WAHO

    - Why are we struggling so much to reduce anemia? What has been missing?, Dr Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director, the Micronutrient Forum

    Moderator: Dr. Simeon Nanama, Nutrition Advisor, UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa

    Plenary discussions

    11:10 –12:20 AM

    02 Sept Thursday

    SESSION 3A: STATE OF FOOD FORTIFICATION IN AFRICA : Food fortification mapping, trends, challenges, and opportunities at continental level

    - Food fortification in Africa, what is the current state? Dr. Mandana Arabi, Vice-President, Global Technical Services, Nutrition International

    - Food fortification in Africa, results and impact
    Dr. Amadou Lamine Gueye, Regional Food fortification manager HKI West Africa

    - Initiatives and experiences in food fortification in Southern Africa, Ms. Pontsho Sepoloane, Senior Technical Advisor for Nutrition, Southern African Development Community

    Moderator : Dr. Adelheid Onyango, Nutrition Advisor, Regional Office for Africa, WHO

    Plenary discussions