Health and Nutrition

GODAN and IPTN have signed an MoU that mandates the GODAN Programme for Capacity Development (GP4CD) to establish the first Global Center of Excellence (CoE) in personalized, therapeutic nutrition that fosters IPTN’s ‘food first’ culture for treating chronic diseases while engaging the data dynamics of health management. The CoE will bring together agriculturalists, dietitians, nurses physicians, and pharmacists to address the reduction or reversal of patient specific metabolic dysfunctions, medical conditions, or their associated symptoms that will be tracked down through a well-crafted personalized mobile application to help align diets and lifestyle while preventing diseases and promoting general wellness.

The full text of the Announcement of this collaboration is provided below dated 25the February, 2021 :

Announcement:

The Institute of Personalized Therapeutic Nutrition (IPTN) has signed an MoU with GODAN (https://www.godan.info) and its Kenya-based Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (GP4CD). The agreement sees the two organizations pledging to work together to promote open data in evidence-based nutritional health treatment; specifically for people living with, or at risk of, chronic health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.

Effective management of type 2 diabetes, a chronic metabolic non-communicative disease, is a worldwide public health priority. According to 2019 OECD health figures, over 425 million people are currently living with the condition across the globe, with the majority in low and middle-income countries. As Part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Agreement on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), member countries have agreed to work towards halting the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025.

People with diabetes are more likely to suffer from life-changing cardiovascular conditions such as sight loss, heart attacks, strokes, amputations, and kidney failure. Management of the disease requires a high level of self-care, making health advice and education crucial to effective management of the condition.

Key objectives of this international collaboration include the creation of Type-2 Diabetes Remission Centres and the education of medical staff on the safe use of therapeutic nutrition.GODAN Programme for Capacity Development (GP4CD) will be working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, using its expertise to build South-South cooperation around the challenge of non-communicable disease prevention and alleviation, to assist in the establishment of a Kenya-based blueprint Centre.

A clinical lead, trained and supported by the IPTN, will be appointed to lead an interdisciplinary team in training local medical staff and clinicians. This proof of concept will lead to the creation of two such centres.

About the IPTN

The Institute of Personalized Therapeutic Nutrition is a Canada-based not-for-profit that promotes therapeutic nutrition as a means to treating chronic, non-communicable disease. Using an evidence-based approach, the IPTN supports advances in patient care and educational programmes.

About GODAN

Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) advocates for the use of open data to combat food security and malnutrition, building a framework for global efforts to make agriculture and nutrition relevant data available, accessible, and usable, for unrestricted use, worldwide. The initiative encourages co-operation among existing agriculture and nutrition open data activities that bring stakeholders together to solve long-standing global problems.