One year after registering our Nutrition for Growth commitments in the Nutrition Accountability Framework, SUN CSN has submitted its first progress update. This is an important accountability milestone as we continue working towards our 2028 ambitions: strengthening cross-country learning between civil society alliances, supporting youth leaders to deliver community-informed advocacy, and advancing civil society advocacy […]
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Closing the gender nutrition gap: lessons from Viet Nam
In Viet Nam, women play a central role in agriculture, food systems and community life. In many contexts, they are not only producers, but also decision-makers and drivers of change. Yet, despite this strong participation, gaps in nutrition, health and access to resources persist – particularly as climate shocks place increasing pressure on livelihoods and food systems. This video […]
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Budgeting for nutrition: How civil society advocacy in Malawi is getting resources to communities
CSONA, the SUN civil society alliance in Malawi, is proving that advocacy works. By partnering with parliamentary nutrition champions and the SUN Civil Society Network, they’ve fought to secure a bigger national nutrition budget – and to make sure those resources actually reach the districts that need them most. But this isn’t just a story […]
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From commitment to action: civil-society led accountability for nutrition results. Reflections from the East and Southern Africa regional workshop.
From 2–6 March 2026, representatives from 17 Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Civil Society Alliances (CSAs), including 12 from East and Southern Africa (ESA) and five from Anglophone West, Central Africa, and the Islands (WCAI), convened in Gaborone for a regional workshop under the theme ‘strengthening accountable food systems for nutrition security and health’, hosted by Food Bank Botswana. Coming at an important moment – […]
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Applications are now open for the SUN CSN Nutrition Dialogues Youth Advocacy Fund!
Overview The SUN Civil Society Network is offering grants of up to €10,000 to Civil Society Alliances (CSAs) for youth-led community dialogues on nutrition. This funding will amplify the voices of marginalised young people and community members, transforming local conversations into concrete policy asks that influence nutrition decision-making from local to global levels. This opportunity builds on the momentum of the Nutrition […]
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SUN Civil Society Network launches SUN CSN 4.0 Strategy to accelerate locally led nutrition action (2026–2030)
The Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) has officially launched its new five-year strategy, SUN CSN 4.0, setting out a bold, locally led roadmap for advancing nutrition outcomes worldwide from 2026 to 2030. The strategy aligns with the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement 4.0 framework while clearly defining SUN CSN’s unique mandate within the […]
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The Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network at a turning point
As 2025 comes to a close, we look back on a year of extraordinary commitment and collective impact across the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN). It has been a year marked by global turbulence, shrinking civic space, widening inequalities and an unprecedented contraction in funding. Yet, despite these challenges, civil society has shown remarkable resilience. Our […]
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Nourish to Flourish: Putting nutrition at the heart of social development
Originally published by UN Nutrition. From 4–6 November 2025, leaders gathered in Doha, Qatar, for the Second World Summit on Social Development (WSSD). Convened by the UN General Assembly, the Summit renewed global commitments to the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the 2030 Agenda. Nourish to Flourish Against this backdrop, UN-Nutrition, together with the Governments of the Netherlands and Brazil, co-organised […]
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Youth Assembly capacity development session: Understanding the role of nutrition and healthy diets in agrifood systems transformation
This article was originally published by the World Food Forum. The World Food Forum (WFF)’s Youth Assembly, in collaboration with the SUN Civil Society Network, Act4Food and McGill Youth Advisory Delegation, hosted a youth-led capacity development session titled “Understanding the role of nutrition and healthy diets in agrifood systems transformation”. Held virtually on 11 August 2025, […]
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African Food Systems Forum: A week of intensity and inspiration
Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) Youth Leader Brice Kouderin travelled from Benin to Dakar, Senegal to attend the Africa Food Systems Forum summit, September 2025. Here he shares his reflections. Last week, Dakar pulsed to the rhythm of the Africa Food Systems Forum 2025. Six days filled with encounters, debates and reflections […]
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Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) Youth Leader Brice Kouderin travelled from Benin to Dakar, Senegal to attend the Africa Food Systems Forum summit, September 2025. Here he shares his reflections.
Last week, Dakar pulsed to the rhythm of the Africa Food Systems Forum 2025. Six days filled with encounters, debates and reflections on the challenges facing our African food systems. For me, it was much more than a conference: it was an immersion into an Africa in motion, full of creativity and resilience.
From the very first sessions, one strong idea stood out: the transformation of food systems cannot happen without local communities and without the energy of young people. This conviction ran through every speech, every exchange, every moment of sharing.
One of the highlights of the forum was the civil society roundtable. Actors from different countries and backgrounds gathered around a shared commitment: to carry the voice of communities.
Civil society at the heart of change
I was particularly struck by the words of Estelle Cohen, Chair of the Board of Directors of Heifer International. She powerfully reminded us that “the voice of rural communities is the backbone of any lasting transformation”. This message resonated with me as an obvious truth: behind every food policy, stand men and women, producers who, often in the shadows, feed our nations.
These discussions confirmed to me that civil society has an important role: not only to advocate for inclusive policies, but also to ensure that local initiatives are recognised, supported, and amplified.
Carrying the voice of communities on an international panel
One of the most significant moments of my journey at the forum was speaking as a panelist during the session “Facing climate change with improved nutrition: policy challenges and opportunities to protect and develop traditional food systems”.
It was an opportunity to present our community dialogues – unique spaces where families, young people and local leaders imagine together ways to respond to malnutrition and climate disruptions. I made it a point to stress that these initiatives are not just one-off projects, but real levers of lasting transformation.
I also emphasised a key issue: too often, decisions are made far from the field. Yet it is imperative that public policies integrate local knowledge, agroecological practices and the aspirations of rural communities. The transformation of food systems must not be imposed from by decision makers, but built together with those who live and cultivate the land every day.
For me, this panel was a privileged moment to affirm that young people and civil society are not passive beneficiaries, but essential actors. Their contribution is vital to move from promises to concrete actions.
Initiatives that inspire and restore hope
Beyond the panels and debates, this forum was a true crossroads of innovation. I met young leaders transforming their villages through agroecological projects, women developing local nutritional solutions, and researchers translating their findings into actions accessible to communities.
These encounters gave me a deep sense of hope: Africa already has the talent, the ideas and the solutions to face its food challenges. The role of networks such as SUN CSN is to give more visibility to these initiatives and connect them to regional and international dynamics.
What can decision makers learn from this?
From this experience, I draw three key lessons for decision makers:
- Listen to and include local communities more in decision-making processes.
- Strengthen synergies between young people, women, producers and policymakers to build solid alliances.
- Move to action, ensuring that the promises made in forums translate into real change on the ground.
A conviction that stays with me
As I leave Dakar, I return with renewed energy and ideas brimming in my mind. But above all, I return with the conviction that our work must not stop at conferences. Dialogues must continue in villages, where ideas come to life and become reality. African food systems will not be transformed from the top down: they will be built together, step by step, with everyone’s commitment.
Building the future here and now
If I had to summarise my experience in one sentence, it would be: change is possible, but it begins with listening to communities and supporting those who feed Africa every day. For SUN CSN, this week is a reminder that our role is to continue highlighting local initiatives, strengthening the participation of young people and women, and building bridges between grassroots actors and international platforms.
The future of our food systems is being built here, with us, now.
