The purpose of the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) is to strengthen the evidence and know-how for effective nutrition interventions in countries prone to crisis and high levels of malnutrition.
Who they are
The Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) is a UK registered charity, set up in 1996, working with programmers, policy makers and researchers to strengthen know-how and evidence to overcome malnutrition. Their vision is that every individual caught up in a nutritional emergency, or suffering from malnutrition anywhere in the world, gets the most effective help possible.
ENN is based in the UK (from a small office in Oxford) but works globally and is made up of a team of technical experts in nutrition with decades of collective experience in the field. They work alongside governments, the United Nations, non-governmental organisations or charities, and research institutions worldwide to look critically at existing practices, raise awareness of issues and drive change so that those working to tackle malnutrition can do the best possible job.
They are trusted to highlight difficulties and gaps in the nutrition sector due to their extensive technical experience and expertise and because they operate neutrally of any one organisation.
Their governance
The charity is governed by a board of trustees and steered by five technical directors. They are guided by their strategy (2013-2015). Their accounts are audited annually and submitted to the UK Charities Commission.
What they do
At ENN, they concentrate their efforts on reducing malnutrition in countries that are unstable, either due to conflict or from natural disasters such as drought. They also focus on countries that are stable but have very high numbers of malnourished people. They do this by:
1. Capturing what works and what is needed to reduce malnutrition
They work with people implementing programmes to help them examine their experiences and document their achievements and challenges. They support them to write and publish lessons in their publications Field Exchange and Nutrition Exchange, which reach over 25,000 people globally per year. They also provide vital ‘real-time’ technical advice to those running nutrition programmes through their online platform en-net, linking them to an extensive network of international experts and peers for advice and guidance.
2. Coordinating technical bodies to increase the global understanding of malnutrition
Their technical areas of work focus on the most nutritionally vulnerable; infants and children, adolescent girls and mothers who are pregnant or are feeding their infants. They convene and coordinate a several international expert groups, involving the most experienced practitioners and academics working on cutting-edge research. The aim is to answer critical questions for better addressing malnutrition.
3. Supporting global efforts to reduce malnutrition
They are continually asked to bring their knowledge and technical expertise to strengthen the activities of organisations working to reduce malnutrition at the global level. They provide specific support to the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Movement to capture what is being achieved, document challenges and share this knowledge widely across the nutrition, food aid and health sectors through publications and interactive platforms (see more on our SUNKM project). They also work closely with the Global Nutrition Cluster to assist with lesson learning and help shape its strategic direction; as a technical expert in WHO guidance development (including infant feeding in specific contexts such as HIV, Ebola and Zika); as an elected member of the No Wasted Lives Council of Research & Technical Advice on Acute Malnutrition (CORTASAM); and as a contributor to the Global Nutrition Report.
Their impact
ENN has a wide global audience. The Infant Feeding in Emergencies (IFE) Core Group's stories of change charts ENN's involvement with the OG-IFE over nearly two decades. In 2015 Mokoro Ltd conducted an independent evalulation of ENN - the full report is now available as well as an executive summary for shorter reading. They have also conducted evaluations of Field Exchange in 2009, 2012 and 2015, Nutrition Exchange in 2012 and 2015 and en-net in 2012 and 2015. In 2009 they also conducted a snapshot of Field Exchange citations used in published literature. A global user survey and citation review are currently being conducted and results will be posted when available.
