Nutrition High on the Agenda at the UN General Assembly, Clinton Global Initiative and High-Level SUN Meeting

At the Clinton Global Initiative, Jay Naidoo participated in the panel: "The Early Years: An Irresistible Investment Opportunity". Watch the discussion. 

Nutrition was at the centre of discussions by world leaders last week at the UN General Assembly, at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting as well as at a number of other events.

At the High-Level Meeting on Scaling Up Nutrition, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said “Every household needs to be able to afford safe, nutritious foods. Markets need to be open and fair. The poorest people need to know they can count on social protection that will not let them go hungry.”  Marc Van Ameringen, stressing the need to find market-based solutions to malnutrition, pointed out the importance of providing incentives to the private sector and building demand among consumers.

Marc Van Ameringen's Intervention at the High Level Meeting on Scaling Up Nutrition.

In a meeting organized by GAIN and chaired by Marc Van Ameringen, the discussion also focused on how to leverage market mechanisms to deliver improved nutrition. The importance of partnering across sectors, and exploring innovative delivery models were recurring themes from the high-level speakers, including Rob Swartbol, Director-General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands, Anne Heughan, Director of External Affairs at Unilever, Samuel Ntim, CEO of Yedent Agro Processing in Ghana, Tom Arnold, Executive Director of Concern, Brendan Cox, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Save The Children UK, Martin Bloem, Chief of Nutrition and HIV Policy at the World Food Programme and Jay Naidoo, Chair of the GAIN Board. Closing the session, David Nabarro, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Food Security and Nutrition and SUN Movement Coordinator, celebrated the recent evolution of nutrition into a mainstream political issue in over 30 countries. He called on concerted action and continuous engagement across a wide range of public and private sectors – not just nutrition-specific, but related sectors such as agriculture, education and social protection – to work together to scale up nutrition and help develop nutritional resilience.

Photos from the UN SUN High Level Meeting. Courtesy UN Foundation.

At the Clinton Global Initiative, Jay Naidoo participated in a panel discussion on investing in early childhood to set the stage for a productive and healthy adulthood. A report on the discussion by the UN Dispatch can be found here: http://www.jaynaidoo.org/media-coverage-clinton-global-initiative-plenary-session/

At the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting a new commitment was also announced by the World Food Programme to reduce child malnutrition in Guatemala by 10% by the end of 2015. This initiative, driven by a partnership between WFP and the Guatemalan Government and with private sector donors, has been applauded by world leaders. Marc Van Ameringen praised the “clear commitment to address stunting with clear resources”.

At a meeting organized by DSM and Sight and Life as part of the 100 Years of Vitamins campaign leading figures and organizations recognized the essential role vitamin and minerals play in alleviating malnutrition and advancing global health and sustainable economic development. “The 100th anniversary of the vitamin is an opportunity for us to reflect on how far we’ve come in increasing access to micronutrients worldwide, and, more importantly, how far we have to go,” said  Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme.

Marc Van Ameringen among the participants of the "100 Years of Vitamins: Celebrating Progress and Promise" event. Photo Courtesy DSM and Sight and Life