Global Day of Action 2015
- Claire Blanchard
- Sep 25, 2015
- 4 min read
Global Day of Action marked by CSAs around the world
Over the last few months, civil society alliances around the world have held Global Day of Action events to highlight nutrition.
Bangladesh – a series of events at national and local level (see below)
Zimbabwe: bringing SUN networks together to share key messages (see below)
Malawi: Day of Action “Keep the momentum: Nutrition at the core of Malawi’s socioeconomic agenda”
Zimbabwe
In Harare in June, the Zimbabwe Civil Society Organisations Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA) commemorated the Global Day of Action by bringing the country’s SUN networks in the country, together with government officials and media to put nutrition on the national agenda.
Attending the event, were representatives from the UN n
etwork, the donor network, the civil society network and the government focal point. Distinguished guests included: Ambassador Mary Mubi, from the president’s office; nutrition champion, the Honourable Thabita Khumalo MP; and Mrs. Ancikiria Chigumira, the Deputy Director in the Nutrition Department in Ministry of Health and Child Care.
Five key nutrition messages were developed by all the SUN networks to advocate for better child nutrition with the overall goal of reducing stunting in Zimbabwe. The shared messages were launched by national nutrition champion Hon.Thabita Khumalo at a press conference attended by twenty journalists from different national media.
Hon. Thabita Khumalo urged the SUN networks to work with local governments so that they mainstream nutrition issues into their planning. “We are all accountable for food and nutrition security outcomes and need to be asking ourselves how our individual or collective actions are contributing to food and nutrition security. Let us take action together, to ensure a Zimbabwe that is free of hunger and malnutrition.”
Mrs Chigumira said that “more needs to be done to accelerate stunting reduction if the country is to meet the global World Health Assembly targets of 40 percent reduction by 2025.” Ambassador Mary Mubi said the business sector in Zimbabwe needed support for it to take shape as a fully functional business network.
The four networks committed to supporting the government in the implementation of the National Nutrition Strategy (2014-2018) in order to reduce rates of malnutrition and contribute to Zimbabwe’s development agenda.
Christopher Mweembe, ZCSOSUNA’s National Coordinator urged all stakeholders to come together for one common purpose, to fight the common enemy - all forms of malnutrition. It was unacceptable, he said, that one in every three children under five years in Zimbabwe suffer from and die of malnutrition.
The event led to significant media coverage, including these examples:
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, CSA for SUN, Bangladesh organised events in May and June, with the aim of influencing decision-makers and media at national and local levels.
The CSA’s first GDA event was a roundtable discussion with members of parliament (MPs) on improving nutrition through collective efforts, which was held in Dhaka at the end of May. It was attended by 17 MPs as well as senior politicians, including: the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mohammed Nasim MP; the deputy speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, Advocate Md. Fazle Rabbi Miah MP; Cultural Affairs Minister, Asaduzzaman Noor, MP; and the Chief Whip of National Parliament, A.S.M. Feroz.
Other guests included the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), senior government officials, members of the CSA’s Executive Committee (EC), the international facilitator of UNREACH, representatives from Global SUN CSO Taskforce as well as journalists and media.
Representing the CSA, Dr. Kaosar Afsana, Secretary of the Alliance and Dr. Jahangir Hossain, EC Member, presented keynote papers on the nutrition situation in Bangladesh. Dr.AKM Musha, Co-Chair of CSA for SUN,BD gave the vote of thanks.
At the end of the discussion, the Health and Family Welfare Minister said that developing a National Nutritional Policy was a priority. He said the government is working to eradicate malnutrition from Bangladesh and the concerted efforts of all ministries concerned and the support of MPs would help. Deputy Speaker Mr. Fazle Rabbi Miah, emphasised the need for consensus around nutrition policy. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor emphasised the importance of raising people’s knowledge around nutrition and health.
All participating MPs shared their views on the topic and committed to improving nutrition and raising the issue in the parliament. The Alliance see this national discussion as the start of a process of raising awareness and promoting policy change on nutrition in Bangladesh.
CSA for SUN, Bangladesh also aimed to reach children through its GDA 2015 campaign. As well as the national event, the Alliance held GDA celebration events in June in eight divisional and district towns. Day-long activities involving local government officials, decision-makers, representatives of the media, and school children were held in the following towns: Chittagong, Bandarban, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Rangpur, Rajshahi.
At each event, an advocacy video produced by CSA for SUN, Bangladesh and TVC was shown to the audience. Comic books on nutrition were distributed to the young people. High school students also competed to create the best ‘wall magazine’ on aspects of nutrition - showing locally available nutritious foods along with the nutrient value of the foods. The events included a round table discussion giving school children the opportunity to put questions to local government officials.
Coverage of the Bangladesh GDA event in 2013 can be found here:
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