Nutriset attended the 2019 Scaling Up Nurition (SUN) Global Gathering held in Kathmandu, Nepal, under the theme « Nourishing people and planet ».
This gathering presented a strategic review of progress made under the 2016-2020 roadmap for the movement. Since inception, SUN has mobilized 61 countries and 4 states in India.
Across the 61 countries member of the SUN movement, approximately 95 million children under 5 years old are affected by stunting and nearly 24 million suffer from wasting. According to the 2018 SUN report, in Asia, across the 14 member-countries, an estimated 37.4 million children under 5 are stunted. Alarmingly, in SUN African countries, stunting has risen, totaling 55.1 million in 2018.
Whilst around 11 countries are currently on track to meet the World Health Assembly stunting target*, it is nonetheless crucial to accentuate the focus on providing good nutrition during the first 1000 days of life. Critical gaps in financing have been identified, particularly in countries facing a significant threat of famine as a result of conflict, climate change, or a lack of economic growth.
The ambition of the SUN movement is reiterated in its report: “Nutrition must be explicitly integrated in global and national initiatives for climate change, agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, gender equality, social protection, and universal health coverage to reduce fragmentation and ensure mutual wins.”
In their address, both Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN, and Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the Unicef and Lead Group Chair, SUN Movement, emphasized the need for more collaborations with the private sector when it is authentically committed to supporting global or national nutrition plans and fighting malnutrition.
Launched in 2010, the SUN movement started under the leadership of 2018 World Food Prize laureate Dr. David Nabarro with the goal of strengthening political commitments of governments on nutrition. The movement encourages countries to work with multiple stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, to improve national nutrition plans.
Nutriset and its partners from the PlumpyField® network are proud to be part of the SUN movement, joining forces with other private sector contributors, under the SUN Business Network division in countries where we are established.
Together, as Nutriset Group, we stand committed, through research, innovations, product development and distribution, to improve nutrition interventions for all, and particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
* the WHA targets notably aim to lower the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age by 50% or lower the incidence of low birth weight by 30% by 2025.
