SUN Civil Societies Call to Action

Author: Cecilia Ruberto, SUN Civil Society Network Learning Route Programme coordinator

On November the 1st 2016, during the SUN Civil Society Learning Route Opening Ceremony, 9 SUN Civil Society alliances from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania raised their CALL TO ACTION for national and international Policy Makers, National and International Agencies that play can accelerate and potentiate the fight against malnutrition.

The Stunting and Malnutrition in African countries are a great concern in our countries and around the world (see below % of children below five suffering).

We call upon Policy Makers, National and International Agencies, National and International Civil Society, business to:

1) Co-ordinate Nutrition Plans: Position nutrition at the highest level of government and bring together stakeholders from across government, the private sector, civil society, donor and UN networks to develop coordinated and costed nutrition plans both at a national and subnational level.

2) Resource Allocation: Ensure national nutrition plans are fully funded. Spending on nutrition should be prioritised and national budgets must include specific nutrition budget lines to turn plans from a piece of paper into a reality. Key to this is the timely release and proper utilisation of funds.

3) Community engagement and accountability: Ensure nutrition interventions are transparent and involve the communities most affected by malnutrition. Nutrition plans must reflect the realities of communities, respect communities as implementation partners and enable communities to track progress and hold governments accountable to their commitments.