November 15-16th 2022 (virtual) 21 – 25th November 2022 (in-person) IIRR Yen Center, Silang, Cavite, Philippines Application deadline: 27th September Malnutrition and hunger continue to afflict children and adults alike across the world, affecting their growth, development, and productivity. If unaddressed, undernutrition has serious short and long-term consequences for a child’s development. Access to, and […]
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Three things we learnt from the first Civil Society Network assembly
This week saw over 60 members of the SUN Movement’s Civil Society Network (CSN) come together from countries all around the globe in the first ever network-wide assembly to discuss experiences and solutions surrounding the current global food crisis and to create tangible advocacy demands as a network. The discussion was full of ideas and […]
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The SUN CSN to host its first network-wide assembly on global crises
Summary The Civil Society Network Secretariat (CSNS) plans to organise a series of meetings with CSN Members to come together and share experiences and perspectives on how the global commodity price increases are impacting nutrition in different contexts. The event on May 25th will be offered as the first of an ongoing series of global […]
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SUN CSA Vietnam goes digital! How AI technology is helping to fight Code violators in Vietnam.
Our Civil Society Alliance in Vietnam, led by Alive & Thrive, and thanks to FHI Solutions’ Innovation Incubator, have teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) company Hekate. Their aim? To try and end exploitative marketing of commercial milk formula and related products within the scope of the BMS code, on the digital frontline. Hekate, a […]
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Ukraine conflict highlights the fragility of the global food system and will have damaging impact on nutrition of the most vulnerable, warns SUN Movement’s Civil Society Network.
Members of the SUN Movement’s Civil Society Network are already reporting food shortages and escalation in prices due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which will have knock-on effects on the state of nutrition globally. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are among the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world. Organisations such as […]
ReadLife under the Taliban: Obstacles faced in Afghanistan
Part 4: Being a child in Afghanistan Written by Zuhra Dadgar-Shafiq, Programme Director and Co-Founder of Action for Development who provide vital health and education services in Afghanistan to the most marginalized and vulnerable individuals through cost-effective, cascade-model projects that allow for community participation and empowerment. Afghanistan has been struggling with conflict for over 40 years. The situation […]
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Life under the Taliban: Obstacles faced in Afghanistan
Part 3: Rising food prices Written by Zuhra Dadgar-Shafiq, Programme Director and Co-Founder of Action for Development who provide vital health and education services in Afghanistan to the most marginalized and vulnerable individuals through cost-effective, cascade-model projects that allow for community participation and empowerment. Afghanistan has been struggling with conflict for over 40 years. The […]
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The African Union Year of Nutrition
At their annual meeting in February of 2022, the African Union declared 2022 ‘The Year of Nutrition for Africa’. This is an exciting initiative as it will shine a spotlight on nutrition in Africa and push for greater political commitment on nutrition and increased investment to address the ongoing malnutrition challenges. The AU will strive […]
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The Youth: Secret Ingredient for a Sustainable Food System
Food and Nutrition Youth Network (FNYN) Philippines Launched By: Rose Jade Eugenie Delgado SUN Youth Leader for Nutrition & FNYN Philippines Convenor In the recipe of shaping a more sustainable food system, we need: a cup of policy changes by governments, a pinch of investment and innovation from businesses and the private sector, a dash of advocacy from Civil Society Organizations, a […]
ReadThe Future of Nutrition: Accountability towards 2030
Almost 10 years after the first Nutrition For Growth Summit, we are still nowhere near meeting the targets laid out for 2025. Rates of stunting, wasting and obesity are still on the rise, while fragile and conflict-affected famines have been forgotten. Add on to that a global pandemic and the exponential number of climate-related disasters, […]
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Almost 10 years after the first Nutrition For Growth Summit, we are still nowhere near meeting the targets laid out for 2025. Rates of stunting, wasting and obesity are still on the rise, while fragile and conflict-affected famines have been forgotten. Add on to that a global pandemic and the exponential number of climate-related disasters, the future of nutrition has never been more important.
But we know what to do, the future of nutrition in our hands and only by holding commitment makers to account and seeing promises become a reality, will we see a stronger, more nutritious future for all.
Join the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network as we, along with the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN) coalition, build off the Global Nutrition Report’s accountability framework and plan to create our own charter for accountability beyond the Nutrition for Growth Summit in December.
What is the Nutrition for Growth Summit?
After being postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this December the Government of Japan is set to host the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit. This ‘global pledging moment’ aims to deliver much-needed action on policy and financing commitments to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2—Ending Hunger in All its Forms.
A year later than hoped, the Nutrition for Growth Summit is more important than ever and it is crucial that we not only see new, bold, ambitious commitments from all stakeholders, but that pledge-makers uphold these commitments between now and 2030.
Commitment making and what we hope to see at N4G
The Nutrition for Growth Summit has commitment making at its heart and we hope to see strong financial pledges when the final commitments are announced at the summit in December.
Stakeholders have been making commitments throughout the year in three core thematic areas: health and enshrining nutrition into Universal Health Coverage (UHC); food and building food systems that promote climate friendly healthy diets and nutrition; and resilience and effectively addressing malnutrition in fragile and conflict affected contexts.
Within these three thematic areas, there are certain things we would hope and expect to see as a civil society movement. Firstly, all stakeholders must ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all. This includes interventions which prioritise the nutritional needs of women and adolescent girls, scaling up access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) with a particular focus on low-income settings, and using agroecology to enhance nutrition through dietary diversity.
We also urge all stakeholders to make pledges which aim to shift to more sustainable and healthy consumption patterns. Rising rates of food and nutrition insecurity and the threats of climate change urge us to promote foods and diets that are both nutritious and have low environmental impacts. This may include promoting the fortification and biofortification of staple foods and crops with essential micronutrients, offering supplementation programmes, and providing education and healthcare services to optimise both child and maternal nutrition and health and promote breastfeeding, especially in low-resource settings.
Beyond Nutrition For Growth
As we end the nutrition year of action and are one year closer to the 2025 nutrition targets, we call on SUN Civil Society Network members to continue working with their governments to maintain the momentum of N4G, uphold pledges made, and push for accountability from all parties making commitments.
The Global Nutrition Report’s Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF) creates the world’s first independent and comprehensive platform for registering SMART nutrition commitments and monitoring nutrition action. All the N4G commitments must be made through the NAF ensuring that they are publicly shared and ultimately upheld. This framework will guide civil society members in holding governments and pledge-holders to account.
Going forward, and as part of the series of side events held in the run-up to N4G, The SUN Civil Society Network and the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN) plans to host an action planning session to further develop and discuss how, as a Civil Society Network, we can hold stakeholders to account beyond 2021.
The objective of this session is to:
- demonstrate the critical role of governance and accountability towards ending malnutrition in line with the N4G principles of engagement and Nutrition Accountability Framework.
- ensure that momentum doesn’t stop at the N4G Summit and instead is used to inform accountability efforts at global and national levels
- use the experience of participants to inform a set of measurable guidelines from civil society to ensure the Nutrition Accountability Framework is used and that effective mechanisms are put in place to hold commitment-makers to account.
The N4G summit is a hugely important moment for making bold financial commitments to invest more in nutrition interventions worldwide. It is a key step on the road to 2025 and to the 2030 sustainable development goals. With very little progress made towards beating malnutrition and a global pandemic that has only exacerbated the problem, we must ensure that commitments for nutrition are not only made, but that governments and commitment-makers are held to account to create effective, long lasting change for people and the planet in years to come.
