The Zimbabwe Civil Society Organisations Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA) is calling on the government of Zimbabwe to make attainable and measurable commitments in preparation for the 2020 Japan Nutrition for Growth Summit.
“As the country’s Civil Society Alliance in Scaling Up Nutrition, we applaud the government of Zimbabwe for making a commitment during the 2013 London Nutrition for Growth Summit. The commitment was aimed at putting nutrition at the centre of the country’s development agenda and making good nutrition one of the top political priorities as a way of facilitating increased domestic financing for nutrition.
“We are however concerned that there is no substantial report to provide information on the progress that has so far been made. According to the Global Nutrition Report 2019 Zimbabwe has made progress in meeting its 2013 commitments but there were challenges in assessing this progress due to language which was not clear and specific and also the tracking systems and capacity to track this progress was poor. It is against this background that we as the civil society are calling on the government to seize this perfect opportunity presented by Japan Nutrition for Growth 2020 Summit to make commitments which are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) and rejuvenate the fight against malnutrition,” said Kudzai Chavunduka, the ZCSOSUNA Projects Officer in her address to the media at the Save the Children office in Harare today.
Good nutrition is a basic need for everyone, everywhere. Having women and children that have the nutitious diets leads to living healthy, productive lives, nurturing of families and communities and putting the world on a path toward greater economic prosperity. Nutrition fuels our ambitions – for children to go to school ready to learn, stay in school, and go on to better jobs. Nutrition fuels our health – providing the foundation for our well-being and that of future generations. Nutrition fuels our progress – investing in our collective brainpower means a more productive workforce and thriving economies. Nutrition fuels the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – averting malnutrition will help achieve at least 12 of the 17 SDGs and help create a healthy, prosperous, and stable world in which no one is left behind. Investing in nutrition is also one of the best buys in global health and development: for every $1 invested in nutrition, $16 is returned to the local economy.
The Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit provides a historic opportunity to transform the way the world tackles the global challenge of malnutrition. The Summit continues the N4G legacy and signals the beginning of a new race toward a healthier, better-nourished future – a race toward ending malnutrition in all its forms in all countries. This requires ensuring that all people, including the most vulnerable, have access to safe, affordable and nutritious food by 2030, as called for by the SDGs.
“The year 2020 presents a perfect opportunity for our government to renew its commitment towards the fight against malnutrition in all its forms. In December this year governments of several nations with support from the Japan government will convene and take stock of previous N4G commitments and the same platform will be used to renew and make new commitments towards improving the nutrition status of citizens.
“The Tokyo N4G summit provides a historic opportunity to transform the way the world tackles malnutrition. The summit signals the beginning of a new race toward a healthier, better-nourished future, a race to end malnutrition in all its forms in all countries and Zimbabwe cannot be left out. This comes at a critical time, with only 5 years to achieve the World Health Assembly targets on Maternal, Infant and Young Child nutrition and 10 years to reach the SDGs. The commitments to be made at the summit will focus on the following core areas – health, food, resilience, promoting data-driven accountability, securing new investment and driving innovation in nutrition,” Chavunduka added.
ZCSOSUNA called on the government to formulate SMART commitments which are in line with the summit’s core areas namely health, food, resilience, promoting data-driven accountability, securing new investment and driving innovation in nutrition; and to periodically report on progress made in honouring the 2020 commitments.
