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5.5 Supporting Programmes
5.5.1 Nutrition Education and Awareness
49. For overall nutrition improvement and the eradication of specific nutritional deficiencies, nutrition education to improve awareness and knowledge is necessary. Nutrition education can be undertaken through formal and non-formal channels of education and communication. Nutrition education through established institutions and the creation of awareness utilizing the mass-media and social marketing technologies are, therefore, important supportive actions for overcoming nutritional deficiencies.
50. Whilst it must be clearly recognized that the impact of nutrition education in the absence of economic and social improvement will be seriously limited, experience has shown that economic and social improvement, though necessary, is no guarantee to improvement of nutritional status. An individual must at the same time develop the capacity to know and understand their own nutritional needs and how to fulfill them with available resources. Consequently, there is now an even greater need to stimulate awareness and participaton of families and communities So as to fully harness their limited resources to get the maximum benefit out of national programmes and innovations.
51. The involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is of particular importance in creating awareness. FAO has prepared nutrition education packages and materials for use in the field at different levels and has assisted goverments in undertaking nutrition education, generally as components of projects with the broad focus of increasing food production or improving incomes in communities.
5.5.2 Training: Human Resource Development
52. Training of nutrition professionals needs to be improved and expanded ranging from postgraduate training of senior-level nutritionists the provision of short courses for agricultural extension workers, health assistants and community leaders.
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53. Many countries of Asia enjoy the services of highly-trained senior nutritionists. However, the variation among the countries of the Region is wide, both in terms of the availability of skilled manpower and in terms of training facilities. The Pacific island nations, for example, possess neither national nutritionists with postgraduate training nor the facilities to train them. Countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are
are well supplied with both nutritionists and training facilities. The Philippines hosts and conducts a Regional postgraduate training programme, which was established ten years ago with the assistance of FAO and has trained many of the nutritionists of the Region. China is currently establishing national-level postgraduate training in nutrition, again with the assistance of FAO. Despite these excellent initiatives, there continues to be a need for high-level training opportunities to train nutritionists for those countries where skilled manpower is scarce, and to upgrade or re-orient nutritionists in the broader multi-sectoral development approach to nutritional problems.
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