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UN agency calls for more investment to tackle malnutrition in Africa

Xinhua, August 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN children's agency (UNICEF) on Monday called for increased investment in the fight against malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.

UNICEF's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala, said that despite some progress, nearly 55 million children under age five are stunted in the region.

"Malnutrition remains a serious threat for children in sub-Saharan Africa during the first 1,000 days of their lives," Gharagozloo-Pakkala said during the opening of an event on the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The four-day event attracted representatives from governments, civil society and development partners from 35 countries in Africa to analyze how to expand the reach and the impact of evidence-based programs as well as the financing for nutrition.

The event aims to set a course for mobilizing domestic and donor financial resources to tackle malnutrition and pave the way for more integrated, multi-sectorial investments.

"Ending malnutrition and giving children the best start in life requires more integration and sustainable investment from different sectors of our society," Gharagozloo-Pakkala said.

The event will examine the latest financial analysis on the cost of meeting the World Health Assembly's Global Nutrition Targets for 2025, and will feature a panel discussion between policy makers, particularly representing the ministries of finance and health, media commentators, parliamentarians, donors and economists, to assess the politics of investing in nutrition. Endit