IPC GSU carried out 3rd round of IPC Acute Malnutrition Classification pilots Somalia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the East and Central Africa Region. 

Hargeisa, Somalia, August 2015. The pilot was jointly organized by FAO’s managed Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and IPC. The pilot was carried out as a training workshop alongside an IPC Acute Food Security Analysis covering seven areas of Somalia including internally displaced persons camps and different livelihood zones. A total of 42 staff members from different organizations including UN, NGOs, and the Government of Somalia participated in the pilot. Additionally, two member of the IPC Nutrition Working Group (one from the FSNAU and the other from the European Commission Joint Research Centre) also attended the pilot. The pilot workshop and analyses were facilitated by the IPC Nutrition Officer.

Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),  August 2015. The pilot was jointly coordinated by FAO and WFP Offices in DRC with support from the Food Security as well as Nutrition Clusters in DRC. A total of 24 participants from various organizations, including the UN, NGOs, and Ministry of Health, attended the pilot, which was carried out alongside an IPC Acute Food Security analysis. 

Khartoum, Sudan, October 2015. The pilot covered five areas of Sudan, 29 staff members from different organizations including UN, NGO, and Government of Sudan participated in the pilot.   food security analysis as soon as the IPC Acute Malnutrition scale has been finalized.  The East Africa Regional Nutrition Advisor for FEWSNET was also in attendance. 

All 3 pilots were facilitated by the core staff of the IPC GSU: IPC Food Security Officer, the IPC Regional Coordinator, and the IPC Nutrition Officer. All the pilots were successfully implemented, the lessons learned and feedback from the pilot were documented. For instance, the methodology used to derive estimates on malnutrition and other indicators in Sudan was slightly modified and hence different from the methodologies previously used elsewhere. These outcomes were presented to the Nutrition experts at 1st  IPC Nutrition Working Group meeting held in December 2015, with the objective to revise and finalize the IPC Acute Malnutrition classification  scale during the meeting. 

Due to the high interest generated by these pilots in the region, IPC GSU has been requested to provide further training and support in order to be well prepared to carry out Acute Malnutrition Classification analysis alongside an IPC acute food security analysis.