How Action Against Hunger's Evidence Week Inspires Cross Program learnings

Action Against Hunger is a world leader in the fight against hunger and provides lifesaving humanitarian assistance in over 55 countries worldwide. Our vision is a world free from hunger. For over 40 years, our field staff have been on the front lines, treating and preventing malnutrition. Last year, we ran 856 projects and helped over 28 million people.

In 2022, we had 61 offices in 58 countries around the world. The Horn of East and South Africa Region (HEARO) team represents Ethiopia, Kenya, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Country Directors and field staff alike from across the HEARO office collaborated last fall to create an interactive series of educational discussions and workshops called “Evidence Week.”

Evidence Week provides a podium to pause and reflect on how our country teams continuously address threats to health systems and food security. The series was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic when our country teams were launching new and innovative ways to provide lifesaving services, and then sought to share these innovations with the rest of our network. Teams are able to present on their newest initiatives and programs---especially those that ensured the uninterrupted delivery of services to HEARO’s hard-to-reach populations.

Evidence Week was informed by the need to collaborate, learn, and adapt. Other teams are able to learn from programs implemented in different countries and in turn enhance their own programming and operations.

Over the last two years, Evidence Week allowed dozens of staff members to inform programming, provide technical assistance, and build evidence and accountability frameworks. Teams can share everything from new malnutrition case studies to climate-resilient gardening techniques to high-tech devices that can bring water to entire communities. Participants Collaborated during the 2022 South Sudan Evidence Day Workshop.