Chairperson of ESA SUNB CSN, Mr Edgar Onyango (left), exchanges documents with ECSA-HC Director General, Dr Ntuli Kalopogwe, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in rusha earlier this week. (Photo by Paul Mzungute).
In a move to strengthen Africa’s health systems, two regional agencies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fast-track collaborative efforts aimed at improving nutrition and health outcomes in 15 countries.
The agreement, signed in Arusha earlier this week between city-based East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) and the Nairobi-based East and Southern Africa Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (ESA SUN CSN), seeks to address the alarming malnutrition rates, where more than 28 per cent of children are stunted and up to 45 per cent of under-five deaths are attributed to poor nutrition.
“This partnership is a call to action,” said ESA SUN CSN Chairperson, Edgar Okoth Onyango. “Nutrition must be placed at the heart of our health and development agenda. It’s about ensuring that nutrition is no longer treated as a peripheral issue,” he emphasised.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, nearly 60 million children under the age of five in Africa are stunted due to chronic undernutrition and over 13 million suffer from wasting — a condition linked to significantly increased risk of death. Malnutrition remains one of the most pressing public health challenges on the continent, undermining the development potential of entire generations, according to various sources.
ESA SUN CSN comprises over 1,400 member organisations working across the region to promote evidence-based nutritional advocacy and accountability.
ECSA-HC Director General, Dr Ntuli Kapologwe, underscored the importance of merging policy with grassroots efforts: “We are creating a platform where civil society can engage meaningfully in shaping and monitoring the implementation of regional and national health strategies,” he said.
Retired civil servant, Dr Switbert Mkama, said malnutrition impacts even those who think are of robust health. Demographically, he said, fertility rates are higher amongst the lower class of the consumption pattern, which means the vast majority of children suffering from stunted growth from childbirth, cannot make quality workers or leaders. “So, whichever way you look at it, economically, socially and politically, malnutrition is a big challenge that needs to be tackled,” he explained.
The partnership is set to boost regional action on maternal, child and adolescent nutrition through active civil society engagement and enhanced policy accountability. Key focus areas include supporting delivery on nutrition commitments made during global and regional forums.
They include the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit held every four years to take home action for ending malnutrition worldwide. It also delivers much needed policy and financing commitments to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of the United Nations – ending hunger in all its forms, key to 12 of the 17 SDGs.
The 2021 N4G Summit in Tokyo, Japan raised over dollars 27 billion through 396 registered commitments worldwide. N4G 2025 in Paris, France last March, raised over dollars 27.5 billion to end malnutrition. The amount was significant considering the absence of the United States, formerly the largest donor. It shows, with or without the United States, the world is firmly committed to ending malnutrition.
