The Nutrition for Growth Summit (N4G), which took place in Japan from 7th to 8th December 2021, was a reset opportunity and a great reminder that we only have nine years left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This summit mobilised ambitious and wide-reaching multi-stakeholders who committed to transforming food and health systems to provide substantial nutrition gains and called on actions to end all forms of hunger.
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The GraƧa Machel Trust (The Trust) continues to support such ambitious efforts. Through the East and Southern Africa Civil society network (ESA CSN), the Trust worked with donors and respective governments to deliver a range of financial and programmatic commitments aimed at reducing rates of undernutrition in their countries through increased nutrition budget allocations. A series of dialogues and media engagements were held in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania to rally governments and donors to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by 2030. As the country governments mobilised their efforts to accelerate progress on malnutrition, the ESA CSN regional network committed itself to championing domestic budget advocacy and expenditure tracking for nutrition in 16 countries. This formed part of the advocacy asks put forward to the Japanese Government at the N4G event.
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The Trust has contributed to developing and launching the 2018 National Nutrition Policy of Malawi. It is a core stakeholder in theĀ “3-in-3”Ā campaign that encourages governments to increase national budget allocations to nutrition programming by 3% per cent. Since the campaign’s launch, 5 of the 8 countries assessed have increased their national nutrition allocations; 2 ā Rwanda and Tanzania ā surpassed the set target.
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Budget analysis results between 2018 and 2020 illustrate thatĀ 5Ā of theĀ 8 countriesĀ assessed have increased their national allocations to nutrition and that two ā Rwanda and Tanzania ā have surpassed the 3% target.
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Photo archive: GraƧa Machel Trust East and Southern Africa Civil Society Network members meeting- 2018Ā
Progress report on follow-up to the second international conference on nutrition (ICN2)
The Nutrition Program work was highlighted in the progress report on the Follow-up of the ICN2. This third biennial progress report updates on progress made in implementing ICN2 commitments (2014) and the Decade since October 2019, covering key developments towards achieving the global nutrition and related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. These include advances in nutrition-related activities within the six action areas of the Decade’s Work Program. It also documents stakeholders’ engagement in nutrition induced by the Decade and advancements in the science-based for improved nutrition and interlinkages with other nutrition-relevant global processes such as the UN Food Systems Summit and the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2021.
The report highlights one of the critical contributions by non-state actors. In addition, the Trust developed the second regional nutrition budget analysis report for Southern and East Africa, examining government commitments and disbursements on nutrition and emphasizing the importance of achieving nutrition objectives and nutrition-sensitive development planning. The report can be found on the following link.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenās 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 Childrenās Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsā 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 Trustās 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 motherās health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childās life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.