The inception of managing the crisis of malnutrition in hospitals within the Sub-Sahara West Africa region in which Nigeria, the country of focus, has been the work of Dr. Teresa Pounds. In taking initiative, Dr. Pounds, has conducted clinical workshops for the past 5-6 years, geared towards educating local pharmacists in the importance of specialized nutritional support and becoming integrally part of the care of patients in need of nutritional support.
Similar to the research study discussed in the introduction, Dr. Pounds has sought to develop a timeline of steps towards improving awareness of nutritional support and leading a group of pharmacists in the formation of WASPEN.
In her most recent visit in November 2018, Dr. Pounds held the first inaugural meeting of the soon to be formed WASPEN. During the meeting, Dr. Pounds discussed her role in the United States as a Nutrition Support Specialist, and how the model of her working with a multidisciplinary team of a nurse, dietitian and physician, is the ideal model for treating patients suffering from malnutrition.
Figure 1: Dr. Pounds educating pharmacists during the November 2018 inaugural WASPEN meeting in Ibadan, Nigeria.