15th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum, from left to right; Vitumbiko Chinoko of CARE International, Tumaini Mikindo of PANITA (representing ESA CSN) and Francis Hale of FANRPAN
It was an exciting week as we joined our partners in nutrition CARE International, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (
The side meeting was a mixture of people from all walks of life, the majority of whom had not heard of the information we shared, we had a robust Q&A session, the audience showing great interest in nutrition and climate issues. The presentations from all three speakers were in demand, the host requested that we forward them to the team and they will be disseminated to all participants in the SADC CNGOâs database!
A second big win was that for the first time, Climate Change, Food and Nutrition have been included in the key policy positions being sent for consideration by the 39th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State & Government. Indeed a good and productive SADC Civil Society Conference and an inspiring side meeting.
Some of the key advocacy asks for the SADC member states include:
- getting a commitment from member states to diversify agriculture from largely rain-fed system to investing in irrigation to increase food production
- invest in nutrition sensitive agriculture and nutrition sensitive development to deliver 80% of the nutrition outcomes
- commitment to invest to increase nutrition investment by 3% in the next 3 years
- review national budgets to provide resources for emergency food relief for affected communities
Read more on our nutrition programme here
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.