The East and Southern Africa Civil Society Nutrition Alliance (ESA CSN) launched the Nutrition Report in Antananarivo, Madagascar on the 26th of March,2019. With support from our partners CARE International, SUN Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) Secretariat and Global Citizen, the three-day event brings together 30 participants from nine ESA CSN countries. The report is a great advocacy tool that holds governments accountable to nutrition commitments that they made in their budgets. Read more on the report here
Below are some key highlights of the launch
ESA CSN Members in Antananarivo for the Madagascar launch of the ESA National Budget Commitment to Nutrition.
Vitu Chinoko representing CARE presenting the regional findings of the report. He presented an analogy: âIf we donât address issues of malnutrition in Africa, it is very unlikely that Africa will ever win the World Cup.â
A copy of the French version of the report focused on Madagascar.
Top policy recommendations that were made;
- Develop pathways to achieve 3% of nutrition budget in 3 years starting 2019 through integrated planning (#3in3)
- Call for transformation of agriculture system for dietary diversity and nutrition sensitive programming
- Make farm subsidy programmes climate and nutrition sensitive. Malabo #10% commitment to Agriculture and #1% for R+D
- Governments should leverage on donor support to nutrition and increase their share for sustainability of the results
- Exploit political will to institutionalize the nutrition agenda
- Investing in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and women empowerment
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Presentation report on the Case of Madagascar was Water Aidâs Aurel Rabehanta who said, “We are calling for more investment in Nutrition and WASH national wide” she added the
Nutrition Programme Manager for Graça Machel Trust, Rachel Toku-Appiah commented that the partners must continue to use the currently available structures and resources and to avoid creating the burden of starting on new ways or reinventing the wheel.
Read more on our nutrition programme
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.