Community Nutrition Days
Mobile screening brigades measuring weight, height, MUAC and haemoglobin, with individual counselling and referral for every case detected.
About UsA professional
A professional
college for
public nutrition.
The Colegio Departamental de nutricionistas y dietistas de santa cruz — known as CODENYD — is a member-governed, non-profit professional medical association of nutritionists and dietitians working across Bolivia.
We combine two roles that are usually separated: we are the professional body that registers, trains and disciplines nutrition practitioners, and we are the health NGO that takes those same practitioners into communities where nutrition services are thin or absent. That combination is deliberate. Standards without access help no one; access without standards can do harm.
We operate from Av. 16 de Julio No.1473, La Paz, Bolivia, coordinate volunteer clinical brigades, run continuing-education programmes for our members, and provide technical input to public institutions on nutrition policy and malnutrition reduction.
Legal Name
Colegio Departamental de nutricionistas y dietistas de santa cruz
Registration / Organization ID (NRS)
417142021
Country
Bolivia
Registered Address
Av. 16 de Julio No.1473, La Paz, Bolivia
Phone
+591 2 2317000
selene.green710@gmx.com
Organization Status
Registered Non-Profit Professional Medical Association / Health Organization (NGO)
Sector
Health · Nutrition · Professional association
Our Mission
Qualified nutrition care, within reach of everyone.
Our mission is to protect and improve the nutritional health of the Bolivian population by developing the nutrition and dietetics profession and by delivering direct nutrition services to underserved communities.
We do this by:
- Registering and credentialing qualified nutritionists and dietitians, and defending the legal and ethical standing of the profession.
- Providing continuing education so that every member practises to current clinical and scientific standards.
- Running free community nutrition programmes for children, pregnant and lactating women, older adults and people living with chronic disease.
- Producing and sharing reliable nutrition information in plain language, in the languages our communities actually speak.
- Advising public institutions on nutrition policy, food security and malnutrition-reduction strategy.
Our Vision
A country where good nutrition is normal, expected and available.
We work toward a Bolivia in which chronic child malnutrition, anaemia and micronutrient deficiency are no longer common; in which the rise of obesity and diet-related chronic disease has been reversed; and in which every hospital, municipality and school feeding programme has access to a qualified nutrition professional.
In that Bolivia, nutrition advice is trusted because it is independent, culturally grounded and scientifically sound — and the country's own quinoa, amaranth, tarwi, native potatoes and Amazonian fruits are at the centre of the national diet rather than at its margins.
Our Values
Six commitments that decide how we work.
- Integrity
- We publish what we do, and we do what we publish.
- Equity
- Care follows need, never income, language or postcode.
- Science
- Guidance follows evidence, not marketing or fashion.
- Respect
- Andean and Amazonian food culture is an asset, not an obstacle.
- Independence
- No commercial food or formula interests direct our advice.
- Solidarity
- Members give clinical hours to communities that cannot pay.
Our Story
Founded by practitioners who kept meeting the same problem.
CODENYD was created by working nutritionists and dietitians who kept encountering the same two gaps: families who had never once been seen by a nutrition professional, and graduates who had no professional structure to belong to after leaving university.
What began as voluntary weekend screening days in peri-urban health posts grew into a formally constituted association with statutes, an elected board, an ethics tribunal, technical committees and an annual programme of community brigades and professional training. We are today a registered non-profit organization with the legal standing to sign agreements with ministries, municipalities, universities and international partners.
Eight programmes, one continuous line from the clinic to the community.
Maternal & Infant Nutrition
Support for exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding education and micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women and children under five.
School Food Program Support
Technical advice on school menus, food safety and nutrition curricula for municipalities and school feeding programmes.
Chronic Disease Prevention
Diet counselling and community education on obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular risk.
Continuing Professional Education
Accredited courses, an annual congress, clinical case sessions and supervised internships for graduating dietitians.
Research & Surveillance
Local nutritional status studies, food-consumption surveys and publication of technical guidance for practitioners.
Emergency Nutrition Response
Nutrition support during floods, drought and other emergencies, coordinated with municipal and national health authorities.
Advocacy & Policy
Technical submissions on food labelling, malnutrition strategy and the legal recognition of the nutrition profession.
Eight reasons institutions, donors and families work with us.
A legally registered non-profit
Formally registered in Bolivia under Registration / Organization ID (NRS) 417142021, operating as a Registered Non-Profit Professional Medical Association / Health Organization (NGO).
Governed by professionals, not sponsors
Our Executive Board is elected by our own licensed members. We accept no funding that would compromise independent nutrition advice.
Evidence-based practice
Programmes and guidance align with WHO and PAHO recommendations and Bolivian Ministry of Health nutrition norms.
Deep local presence
Our members live and practise in the communities we serve, in Spanish, Aymara and Quechua-speaking settings alike.
Free at the point of care
Community screening, counselling and education are delivered without charge to participants.
Measured and reported
Every brigade records anonymised coverage and referral data; annual activity and financial reports are available to partners on request.
Ethics you can appeal to
A published code of conduct and an independent Ethics Tribunal give patients and institutions a route of recourse.
Ready to partner
We have the legal standing, technical staff and administrative structure needed to sign agreements with ministries, universities, NGOs and donors.
Governance
Elected, accountable and separated by function.
- General Assembly
- All registered members; approves statutes, plans and annual accounts.
- Executive Board
- President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and vocals, elected by the Assembly.
- Ethics Tribunal
- Independent panel handling professional-conduct complaints.
- Technical Committees
- Clinical nutrition, community nutrition, food safety, education and research.
- Audit Committee
- Reviews income, expenditure and grant compliance each financial year.
CODENYD is a non-profit entity. No part of its income is distributed to members, officers or founders; surpluses are applied entirely to its statutory purposes. Board positions are honorary and elected for fixed terms by the General Assembly.
Transparency & Accountability
What we publish, and what you can ask us for.
- Annual activity report describing programmes delivered, communities reached and referrals made.
- Annual financial statement of income and expenditure, reviewed by the Audit Committee.
- Statutes, code of professional ethics and Ethics Tribunal procedure.
- Register of member professionals in good standing, available to institutions for verification.
- Data protection: patient and beneficiary data is collected only for clinical follow-up, stored confidentially and reported only in anonymised, aggregate form.
- Non-discrimination: services are provided without distinction of ethnicity, language, gender, religion, disability or political affiliation.
Documentation for grant, partnership or nonprofit-programme verification purposes can be requested at selene.green710@gmx.com.
Who We Serve
The people our programmes are built around.
- Children under five at risk of stunting, wasting or anaemia
- Pregnant and lactating women
- School-age children and adolescents
- Older adults living alone or on low incomes
- People living with diabetes, hypertension or obesity
- Rural and peri-urban families with limited health access
- Hospitals and health posts needing nutrition support
- Students and graduates entering the nutrition profession
Partnership & Support
How organizations can work with us.
We collaborate with ministries and municipal health services, universities and research groups, international NGOs, foundations and technology providers. Partnerships typically take the form of joint community programmes, training agreements, research collaboration, in-kind support, or grant funding for brigade logistics and equipment.
As a registered non-profit organization we are able to receive grants and donations, sign institutional agreements, and provide the registration and governance documentation that donors and nonprofit programmes require.