Can the African people investigate and critically analyse nutrition needs in their context, identify national or community nutrition problems, plan and evaluate nutrition programs, educate, and communicate scientific knowledge in nutrition without high-level trained staffs with a strong scientific base in human nutrition? Will they be able to tackle their nutrition problems without a sustainable organisation for long-term training and research? In this paper, an attempt is made to analyse factors that will contribute to improving human nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper also highlights an experience of institutional capacity building in Senegal, West Africa.