Frontline Nutrition Services: Roles, Responsibilities, and Pre-Service Training

A skilled workforce is critical for the provision of nutrition services at the frontline or primary care level and, ultimately, achieving better health outcomes. For frontline providers of nutrition services to detect potential nutrition issues; support treatment; and facilitate prevention through counseling, supplementation, and treatment of underlying issues, educational institutions must equip them with the necessary competencies. In 2022, USAID Advancing Nutrition conducted a landscape analysis of the pre-service training of selected cadres of health workers in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi, and the Kyrgyz Republic to identify the frontline health workers primarily responsible for providing nutrition services at the frontline, their nutrition-related roles and responsibilities, and the nutrition-related competencies their pre-service training curricula covers.