Addressing the growing burden of hospital malnutrition in Sub-Saharan West Africa has been a longstanding focus of Dr. Teresa Pounds, whose work has played a significant role in promoting specialized nutritional support in Nigeria.
For more than five years, Dr. Pounds has led a series of clinical workshops and educational programs aimed at equipping pharmacists with the knowledge and skills needed to become active members of multidisciplinary nutrition support teams. These initiatives have emphasized the critical role pharmacists play in identifying, managing, and monitoring patients requiring specialized nutritional support.
Raising Awareness Through Education
Recognizing that improving patient outcomes begins with education, Dr. Pounds developed a strategic roadmap to increase awareness of clinical nutrition and build a network of healthcare professionals committed to advancing nutrition support practices across Nigeria.
Her vision extended beyond education alone. Through sustained collaboration with local healthcare professionals, she laid the foundation for establishing the West Africa Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN)—a professional organization dedicated to improving nutritional care, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, and advancing research and education throughout the region.
The First WASPEN Inaugural Meeting
A major milestone in this journey was reached during Dr. Pounds’ visit to Nigeria in November 2018, when she convened the first inaugural meeting for the proposed WASPEN chapter in Ibadan, Nigeria.
During the meeting, Dr. Pounds shared her experience as a Nutrition Support Specialist in the United States, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in delivering effective nutritional care. She explained how pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and dietitians work together as a coordinated Nutrition Support Team to assess, develop, implement, and monitor individualized nutrition therapy for hospitalized patients.
She emphasized that this collaborative model represents the international standard of care and has been shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce complications, shorten hospital stays, and enhance the overall quality of healthcare delivery.
Building a Sustainable Future
The inaugural meeting marked the beginning of a coordinated effort to establish WASPEN as a leading professional society dedicated to clinical nutrition in West Africa. By fostering education, professional collaboration, and evidence-based practice, the organization aims to strengthen healthcare systems and ensure that nutritional care becomes an essential component of patient management throughout the region.
Figure 1. Dr. Teresa Pounds delivering an educational session to pharmacists during the inaugural WASPEN meeting held in Ibadan, Nigeria, in November 2018.