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Background: Wild edible plants (WEPs) are usually considered to constitute all plant resources that are neither cultivated nor domesticated but are used as nutritional supplements by local people. WEPs play a vital role in ensuring food and livelihood security for countless families and communities around the world. The objective of the study was to assess and document wild edible plants used by communities in the Arsi Robe district as food. Methods: Semi-structured interviews, market surveys, and guided field walks were employed as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, and Jaccard's similarity index. Results: The present study revealed various types of wild edible plants consumed by local communities in the Arsi Robe district of the East Arsi Zone. This could be justified by the documentation of 36 different wild edible plants in the study area. These WEPs belong to 31 genera and 25 families. Most of the growth forms of the edible wild plants in the district were shrubs (16, 44.44%) and trees (14, 38.88%). Amaranthus caudatus and Bridelia micrantha are the most preferred WEPs in the study area. The finding of the study also revealed that Lepidotrichilia volkensii and Premna schimperi are among the novel WEPs that had not before been documented as food items in other areas. Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Ficus sycomorus, Cordia africana, and Ficus sur are species with multiple uses. Agricultural expansion, charcoal production, the construction of different materials, making agricultural tools, deforestation, and other factors were the top prioritized threats affecting the abundance and diversity of wild edible plants. Conclusion: Along with the sustainable utilization and conservation of the existing WEPs of the study district, priority should be given to the urgent collection, domestication, and cultivation of multiuse wild edible plant species such as Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Ficus sycomorus, Cordia africana, and Ficus sur in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, great efforts and investments have been made in Ethiopia to ensure that all children have equal access to nutrition services in health facilities. While quality health systems are a prerequisite for quality nutrition services, little attention has been given to the evaluation of the supply and delivery services. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the coverage and quality of the nutrition‐specific interventions delivered through the health system. Using an end‐user monitoring (EUM) system, we monitored the delivery of nutrition‐specific interventions in 500 districts, having 2514 health facilities distributed throughout Ethiopia. Data were collected through third‐party monitors between August 2020 and 2021. Roughly 90% of health facilities were performing severe acute malnutrition management in line with the national guideline/protocol, and 2/3 of the assessed facilities were delivering iron and folic acid, vitamin A supplementation and deworming. A third of the messages on AMIYCN were retained by beneficiaries. Warehouse conditions were good in 64.3% of the facilities, but only 22% had good recording practices and about half had problems related to the quality and availability of nutrition supplies. Most beneficiaries were satisfied with the nutrition supplies and service delivered at the health facility level. This study also suggests the relevance of an EUM system to assess the quality of nutrition service delivery and its related supply management, as well as to improve the implementation of nutrition interventions as a decision‐making tool. Key messages: The main bottleneck identified in supply management was the recording system, while roughly 65% of warehouses are in good condition to store nutrition supplies at the health facility level.Roughly 90% of health facilities were performing severe acute malnutrition management in line with the national guideline, while 2/3 of the health facilities are delivering iron and folic acid, vitamin A supplementation and deworming.The knowledge and practices of the HW were above average and only a third of the messages delivered were retained by beneficiariesAlthough messages are being well delivered once counselling is implemented, many opportunities (contact points) are missed to deliver nutrition counselling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter], an ancient cereal primarily grown in Ethiopia, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide due to its high iron content and gluten-free nature. However, it has been reported that injera produced only with tef flour lack certain vital nutrients. Therefore, this specific study was conducted to supplement tef injera with other food materials of better nutritional value and compensate its expensive market price with sorghum cereal flour. The effect of fermentation conditions, and the sorghum and carrot pulp blending ratio on the nutritional value and sensory quality of tef injera was investigated. The factorial approach of the experimental design was conducted considering the nutritional value and sensory quality of the injera made of three main blending ratios of tef, sorghum, and carrot (60% tef: 30% sorghum: 10% carrot pulp, 45% tef: 45% sorghum: 10% carrot pulp and 30% tef: 60% sorghum: 10% carrot pulp) as experiential variables. The raw materials and injera were characterised for their proximate composition, physicochemical property, mineral composition, microbial analysis, and sensory attributes, using standard methods. The results of the study show that fermentation conditions and blending ratios have a significant effect on the nutritional, anti-nutritional, mineral content, microbial quality, and sensory properties of blended injera products, where higher values of ash, crude protein, crude fat, Total titratable acidity (TTA), Fe, Zn, and Ca (2.30%, 11.34%, 2.62%, 3.53, 32.97 mg/100 g, 2.98 mg/100 g and 176.85 mg/100 g, respectively) were analyzed for the co-fermented injera sample. In addition, a lower microbial count was observed in co-fermented injera samples, whereas microbial counts in injera samples prepared from carrot pulp-supplemented dough after the co-fermentation of tef and sorghum flours were observed to be higher. The injera product made using blending ratio of 60% tef: 30%sorghum: 10% carrot co-fermented was found to be the optimum result due to its very good nutritional improvement (i.e., reduction of some anti-nutritional factors, microbial contents, pH and increased contents of some minerals, crude protein, crude fat, TTA and improved most of the sensory quality of the supplemented injera product). According to this study, sorghum and carrot supplementation on tef could improve the nutritional value of injera while also providing an instant remedy for the growing price of tef. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]