Joint DSA Ireland / Irish Aid / IFGH Nutrition-WASH Seminar

Following the first meeting of the Joint DSA Ireland / IFGH Child Health Study Group earlier this month, we were pleased to co-host another great event with DSA Ireland, and Irish Aid: a half-day seminar focusing on Nutrition and WASH Integration, Research and Future Challenges. For in-depth coverage of this great event, please click here to read the latest Global Health Writes article, from Citizen Journalist Siobhan Nestor!

The seminar featured a keynote address from Professor Robert Chambers – Research Associate at the Institute of Development Studies, followed by expert input from Niall Roche, WASH and Environmental Health Consultant; Kate Golden, Senior Nutrition Advisor to Friend of the IFGH Concern Worldwide; and Irish Aid’s Mags Gaynor.

The panel then took part in a Q&A session, giving insight on specific issues raised by attendees– for example on the need for integration of Nutrition and WASH with broader infrastructure provision, where Prof. Chambers commented, “Integration and coordination have to be optimised, not maximised”, speaking to the general consensus that whilst upscaling of efforts is a necessity research paper help, the manner in which it is conducted relies on intelligent application and better understanding of outcomes that may be more important than raw numbers. Here, the panel agreed that a greater emphasis on strategies such as rapid action learning, could be a useful way to accelerate the uptake and roll-out of innovative strategies in the field. Finally, the event saw the inaugural presentation of the Robert Chambers award, for the most innovative paper presented at last year’s DSA Ireland Annual Conference (2014). This year’s award went to Professor Padraig Carmody, of the Geography Department at Trinity College Dublin.

Over the coming months, we will be working in closer partnership with DSA Ireland, and look forward to bringing you news of future seminars and events. Please keep up with the latest information by signing up to our eforum and newsletter, checking up with updates from the IFGH Facebook page, and following us on Twitter!