Published: Monday, 23 November 2015 15:53
The Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Global Gathering (SUNGG) was organized from 20th -23rd October 2015 in Milan, Italy. The SUN Global Gathering was attended by over 500 participants from 55 SUN Countries and Networks to celebrate the Movements progress in scaling up nutrition and plan the way forward in the new SUN strategy and roadmap for 2016-2020
This 4 day meeting was opened by Tony Lake who called for women and men to march together for the movement and not “lose sight of what really matters. Results,” especially in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa where children are most stunted. He stated that our work will never be finished until every child has access to food and nutrition.
The first day also included a panel discussion reviewing progress, challenges and plans for scaling up SUN through coordination, collaboration bringing together efforts by all partners including government, civil society, UN, business community and research institutions for a multi-sectorial approach; effective investment and tracking.
Day two included a panel discussion on “Empowering women and girls in the SUN Movement” highlighting ways in which gender dimensions and empowerment for women and girls can be put at the center of SUN. In a review session on the draft SUN strategy, participants called for active coordination in order that members can do their jobs better through a push pull approach; push for advocacy and pull for accountability and capacity strengthening.
SUN GG was an opportunity for Sierra Leone delegates to network with various organizations, networks and donors showcasing our SUN progress through the participation in various workshop streams and display in the market place.
Delegates from Sierra Leone included Dr. Mohamed Foh National Coordinator Scaling Up Nutrition Secretariat, Madam. Aminata Shamit Koroma Director of Food and Nutrition Ministry of Health and Sanitation Directorate of Food and Nutrition, Mr. Mohamed Ajuba Sherriff Deputy Director Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security, Dr. Zed Bahson Director Bennimix, Madam Issotta Pivota Advocacy Expert Action Contre la Faim(ACF) and Madam Ramatu Jalloh National Coordinator Scaling Up Nutrition and Immunization Civil Society Platform.
The joint mission was a success as it has allowed all key networks (government, business community and CS) to better understand the need for stronger collaboration and coordination required to scale up nutrition activities to improve the nutritional status of children in Sierra Leone.
