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Sub-themes

1. Maternal, Child and Adolescent Nutrition for Healthy Growth and Development

This subtheme invites abstracts focusing on interventions, policies and other research aimed to improve nutrition among women of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating mothers, and children under five. Topics may include promoting breastfeeding, complementary feeding strategies, and addressing micronutrient deficiencies.

  1. Abstracts to this focus should align with UNICEF’s focus on the first 1,000 and the next 7000 days of life as a critical window for intervention.
  2. Micronutrient Supplementation: Effective approaches to micronutrient supplementation, including vitamin A, iron, and zinc.
  3. Breastfeeding Promotion: Initiatives to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and continued breastfeeding.
  4. Maternal care : Antenatal care, postnatal care, child care, family planning, maternal education and screening.
2. Nutrition Practice, Therapy and Immunity Across the Lifespan

This subtheme invites abstracts on diagnosing, treating, and monitoring malnutrition in clinical settings. Topics may include;

  1. Nutritional assessment, screening tools and intervention for different populations (e.g., infants, children, adults, older adults)
  2. Screening and managing malnutrition, nutrition counselling, and linkages between health and nutrition programs
  3. Micronutrient deficiencies, prevention and control with a focus on managing key nutrients (deficiencies and excesses) in all age groups.
  4. Medical nutrition therapy for specific conditions (e.g., malnutrition in acute illness, chronic diseases, and following surgery.
  5. Advances in clinical nutrition interventions (e.g., enteral and parenteral nutrition); the role of interdisciplinary teams in malnutrition management.
  6. Ethical considerations in clinical nutrition practice This sub-theme complements your existing subthemes by focusing on the practical application of nutritional knowledge in healthcare settings.
  7. Immuno-nutrition, nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, metabolomics, and precision nutrition will be directed at identifying, assessing, preventing, and intervening in the triple burden of malnutrition.

It will attract submissions from clinicians, dietitians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals involved in direct patient care. This subtheme bridges the gap between public health interventions and individualized clinical management of malnutrition.

3. Nutrition Epidemiology, Surveillance and non-communicable diseases

Trends in preventing and managing nutrition-related NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, overweight and obesity, cancer and other associated co-morbidities will be explored.  Research and educational interventions in this area will be examined for behavioural change.

4. Strengthening Community-Based Approaches for Nutrition

This subtheme welcomes abstracts on community-based programs and interventions that empower communities to address malnutrition. Topics may include;

  1. Community health worker programs, social and behavioural change communication strategies, community-led initiatives, and Social Protection and Safety Nets: Programs to address poverty, inequality, and food insecurity, such as cash transfers, food assistance, and social protection schemes.
  2. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Initiatives to improve WASH infrastructure, services, and practices, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and care groups.
  3. Nutrition Education and Awareness: Promoting nutrition education and awareness among communities, particularly women, children, and adolescents. Empower them through education, economic opportunities, and social protection to improve their nutrition status and that of their families.

Abstracts to this focus should align with UNICEF’s emphasis on community engagement and ownership.

5. Creating Supportive Food Systems & Environments for Healthy Diets

This subtheme encourages abstracts exploring the creation of environments that promote healthy food choices across the lifespan. This includes topics such as;

  1. Food systems, Strategies for food availability and accessibility, affordability of nutritious foods, marketing regulations, and consumption of healthy foods, particularly for vulnerable populations.
  2. School health and nutrition, the school food environment, and the contribution of school meals to dietary quality and adequacy at various school-age levels will also be covered. The mapping and quality of school meal services, school meal policy, and the sustainability of financial resources critical to the continuity of school meal programs will also be covered.
  3. The challenge of integrating traditional foods into urban supply chains and intra-African trade will be discussed.
  4. The role of the food processing industry in developing novel food products from traditional foods to suit the preferences of the modern consumer will also be explored.
  5. Tracking food system response from local through national to continental crises.  This would include local, regional, or national initiatives and innovations to mitigate the impact of crises through strengthening capacity and resilience.
  6. Explore submissions on the food value chain system from the farm to the table. The circular economy and waste reduction/management, dietary shifts and alternative food sources, gender dynamics, and equity in food systems will also be explored.
6. Protecting the Environment, Building Resilience to Climate Change and Emergencies

This subtheme encourages abstracts on strategies to protect nutrition during emergencies and build resilience to climate change impacts. Topics may include

  1. Early warning systems for food insecurity, nutrition-sensitive disaster risk reduction, and climate-smart and environmentally-protective agriculture. This aligns with UNICEF’s work in humanitarian contexts.
  2. Recent trends on climate and health, biodiversity, conservation, and ecosystem health are central to the “One Health” agenda, which brings together human and animal health and the environment. Resilience in agriculture and agribusiness and implications for research, training, and practice will also be featured.
  3. The rich culture and diversity of foods locally, nationally and across Africa, preserving indigenous knowledge and practices and increasing the demand for Indigenous foods of high nutritional value.

The food environment submissions will consider presentations and dialogue around research, policy, and advocacy within the food environment space, including food safety, prevention and control services, and infrastructure.

7. Policy and Governance and Integrating Nutrition into Universal Health Coverage

This subtheme invites abstracts exploring integrating nutrition services into primary healthcare systems and other essential health services. Topics may include;

  1. National Nutrition Policies and Plans: Development, implementation, and monitoring of national nutrition policies and plans.
  2. Multisectoral Coordination: Effective coordination and collaboration among government ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as with civil society, private sector, and international partners.
  3. Nutrition Governance and Accountability: Strengthening governance, accountability, and transparency in nutrition programming and policy implementation to prevent the triple burden of malnutrition.
  4. Capacity Building, manpower development and Training: Building capacity and providing training for healthcare providers, nutritionists, and other stakeholders to address the triple burden of malnutrition.

 Abstracts submitted under this theme should align with UNICEF’s support for strengthening health systems.

8. Using Research to Harness Innovation and Technology for Nutrition

Using innovative technologies and approaches to improve nutrition outcomes. This subtheme welcomes abstracts on

  1.  Nutrition Research and Surveillance: Conduct research and surveillance to understand better the triple burden of malnutrition, its causes, and effective interventions.
  2. Innovative Nutrition Solutions: Developing and scaling up innovative nutrition solutions, including mobile health applications for nutrition, data-driven decision-making, novel food fortification techniques, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and digital health technologies. This aligns with UNICEF’s focus on leveraging innovation for results.