including orientation to Member States in their efforts to organise and convene National Food Systems Dialogues leading up to the UN Food Systems Summit set for September 2021. In this regard, the AUDA-NEPAD is organising series of United Nations Food Systems Summit orientation and dialogues platforms for national CAADP and Nutrition/Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) focal point persons. This is about galvanising the country CAADP and Nutrition/SUN/IFNA focal point persons capability in support to the National Dialogues. Though, National Dialogues are expected to go beyond just agriculture, as expressly enunciated by the designers of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in the CAADP Pillars I to IV and the structure and mechanisms for implementation such as NAIPs, CAADP Country Team and the Joint Sector Reviews (JSR) Platforms, the national focal point teams bring a worthy of knowledge, experience and networks which would be valuable in comprehensive and inclusive National and sub-National Dialogues.

The virtual orientation objectives were to:

1. Provide an open platform to share and exchange on relevant information, tools and mechanisms for effective convening of national and sub-national dialogues, convened under the leadership of National Convenors 

2. Explore key issues (challenges, opportunities) from an agriculture and nutrition perspective in accelerating implementation of food systems related goals and targets (as in Agenda 2063, Malabo Declaration and SDGs) 

3. Expose key national and sub-national initiatives and associated lessons in addressing linkages between food security and nutrition, environmental resilience, healthcare as well as general human well-being (also reflecting lessons from COVID19- pandemic)