Press Release
(Embargoed until 07 December 2016 at 16:00hr)
Graca Machel and UNICEF Regional Director, Leila Pakkala on joint advocacy in Namibia to support nutrition and child rights initiatives
07 December 2016 – Global Child Rights Advocate, Mrs. Graça Machel and UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ms. Leila Pakkala, are in Namibia to lend support to Governmentâs on-going efforts to reduce malnutrition among children and accelerate childrenâs rights realisation.
During their three day visit, Mrs. Machel and Ms. Pakkala will meet with top Government officials, Members of Namibiaâs National Assembly, Civil Society Organisations, UN Agencies and development partners, to strategize on how to increase investment towards nutrition as a way to ensure better returns on all development goals. Discussions will also focus on how to strengthen multi-sectoral partnerships in response to the barriers to good nutrition; education and early childhood development, as well as setting up and enforcing legal frameworks to enhance better nutrition in the country.
âNamibiaâs successes and gains in child survival and in the fight against malnutrition, are a result of the ongoing partnerships we have with UN Agencies, Civil Society players and prominent child rights championsâ, said Rt. Hon. Dr. Saara Kuugongelwa Amadhila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia. âThis visit of both Mrs. Machel and Ms. Pakkala is therefore a welcome reinforcement of the Governmentâs on-going efforts to reduce the harmful impact of undernutrition on the health and social development of Namibiaâs children and to find common solutions to the challenge.â
Malnutrition causes irreversible damage to the physical and mental development of the child. A child affected by malnutrition, especially in the first 1000 days of life will not reach their full physical and intellectual potential in future. Namibia has therefore strengthened efforts to reduce the multiple social and economic inequalities which influence the condition.
Commendable strides have been made in Namibia to reduce deaths and illness due to common childhood illnesses, including malnutrition. Under 5 deaths have been brought down from 4,200 per year in 1990 to less than 3,000 in 2013, while maternal mortality ratio has declined from 449 per 100,000 live births to 385 per 100,000 live births over the same period.
More than 84% of the population has access to safe drinking water, a key intervention to reduce incidence of diarrhoea due to consumption of contaminated water. The percentage of underweight children has declined from 17 per cent in 2006 to 13 per cent in 2013, while stunting prevalence has also declined from 29 per cent to 26 per cent.
âAs we celebrate the achievements made for our children and their families, we must not forget that the very real impact that malnutrition continues to have across Africa. Many children, particularly those in rural and drought prone areas, those affected by HIV, or who those who come from income constrained households, continue to bear the brunt of malnutrition, a condition which can be prevented and managedâ said Mrs. Machel.
The visit by Mrs. Machel and Ms. Pakkala is a follow-up to the 2012 visit of Mrs. Machel to Namibia, whereby Government reiterated willingness and commitment to heighten cooperation and partnership to fight malnutrition. The visit also builds on to the continued collaboration between the Government of Namibia; the |Namibian Alliance for Improved Nutrition (NAFIN) and UNICEF to sustain gains in child health and nutrition and find common solutions to resolve the outstanding issues.
Since the 2012 visit, UNICEF has supported the Government of Namibia through the engagement with other SADC countries to devise policies and programmes to effectively scale up nutrition. Namibia has also continued its active involvement in the Scale Up Nutrition (SUN) global movement to improve maternal and child nutrition. Through this engagement, Namibia is now well recognized beyond the borders of Namibia in its efforts to respond to malnutrition.
âIt is UNICEFâs duty and commitment to ensure that all children, everywhere are protected from the threats and impact of malnutrition,â said Ms. Leila Pakkala. âWe shall continue to extend our unwavering support towards Government actions to prevent and respond to malnutrition through resource mobilisation, development of partnerships for children and through effective community engagement.â
The visit of Mrs. Machel and Ms. Pakkala comes at a time when Mrs. Machel has been appointed as an Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate by the United Nationsâ, to help promote action for the achievement of the SDGs, which were adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.
Background Information
About Graça Machel Trust
The Graça Machel Trust is an advocacy organisation that works across the continent to drive positive change across womenâs and childrenâs rights, as well as governance and leadership. Through our support of local initiatives and connecting key stakeholders at a regional, national and sub-national level, we help to catalyse action where it is needed. By using our convening power the Trust seeks to amplify the voices of women and children in Africa; influence governance; and promote womenâs contributions and leadership in the economic social and political development of Africa. To find out more about our work and programmes, please visit:
www.gracamacheltrust.org
Follow us on Twitter: @G_MachelTrust and Facebook: Graça Machel Trust
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The worldâs largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit:
www.unicef.org
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
For further information, please contact:
ďˇ Rhingo Mutambo, Office of the Prime Minister, on Cell: +264 813607071 or email: Rhingo.Mutambo@opm.gov.na
ďˇ Ms Judy Matjila, UNICEF Chief of Communications; Cell +264 811275963 or email: jmatjila@unicef.org
ďˇ Rosemary Viljoen; Communications Director, The Graça Machel Trust; Tel:+27 11 325 0501/9 or email RosemaryV@gracamacheltrust.org
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenâs rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Childrenâs Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsâ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trustâs goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a motherâs health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childâs life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.