The African Union
The continued high level of malnutrition in Africa is a matter of serious concern that goes far beyond the already well recognized public health impact. There is now new evidence to demonstrate that different forms of malnutrition have very significant consequences for physical, mental, cognitive and physiological development and, therefore, become a critical human rights issue. At the same time and for related reasons, malnutrition leads to decreased social and economic development of nations and, hence, becomes a very important political and economic development issue.
Particularly notable is the new scientific evidence that demonstrates the consequences of undernutrition, particularly ‘stunting’ (low length or height for age). Almost half of all child mortality in the world is associated
with undernutrition. Recent evidence from the first phase of the COHA study1 has clearly demonstrated that stunting is negatively associated with a number of critical socio-economic development indicators.
According to this study:
• stunting contributes to at least one in every ten deaths(8% of all deaths) among children younger than five
years in Africa;
• individuals who were stunted before their fifth birthday achieve 0.2 to 1.2 years of less school education
compared to their non-stunted counterparts;
• stunting is associated with between 7 to 16 percent of repetitions among school children;
• between 1 to 8 percent reduction in workforces on the continent were due to child stunting;
• countries in Africa lose between 1.9 to 16.5 percent of their annual gross domestic product (GDP) because of childhood stunting.
It is important to recognize that stunting is not the main problem in itself but it is an important indicator that reflects the fact that the child has suffered from malnutrition during critical phases of physical, mental and functional developments during the first 1000 days of the child’s life (starting with conception through fetal stages and birth up to 2 years of age). Most of these debilitating effects are irreversible. Stunted girls
are more likely to give birth to undernourished babies – thereby perpetuating the cycle of undernutrition and poverty. A stunted child also has a greater propensity for developing obesity and other chronic diseases
during adulthood. With increasing urbanization, sedentary lifestyle and shifts in diets across most parts of Africa, obesity and associated chronic diseases are becoming a burgeoning epidemic alongside the high rates
of stunting and other forms of malnutrition on the continent.
Efforts to reduce malnutrition in Africa have to be increased to properly address this situation. As of 2013, an estimated 56 million stunted children lived in Africa, which is considerably more than the 45 million estimated for the year 1990. It is now clearer than ever that the cycle of poverty in Africa can be broken by increasing investment and commitments of national governments and other development partners in nutrition interventions.
The Way Forward
This African Regional Nutrition Strategy (ARNS) 2015-2025 will be adopted by the AU Heads of State and Governments in order to provide guidance to a systematic and consistent effort to eliminate the problems of hunger and malnutrition across all AU Member States. It also details the specific role and tasks that the AUC and its implementing agencies (including RECs) and partners will undertake in order to lead and support the implementation process of the strategy according to their respective mandates and capacities. Being a ten-year strategy, the emphasis of the ARNS 2015-2025 is to establish overall objectives and priority areas of action to pursue during this period.
It is not a plan of action with detailed activities and budgets. Instead, it is intended to provide a clear and consistent framework for formulating specific 3-year strategic plans both at the continental (AUC) and regional
(mainly RECs) levels to guide AU member States in the development of their national strategies and action plans for nutrition activities. The need for regional- and national based specific strategic plans is dictated by the fact
that there is great diversity on the African continent in terms of the conditions and factors that determine the nutritional status of the people living in these areas which need to be addressed in the respective regional,
national and sub-national plans to control the problems of malnutrition.
Each of the regional and national plans needs to consider such specific conditions and opportunities in their respective areas and build up a system for support to country-level planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation accordingly. The RECs will consequently play a decisive role in the implementation and regular monitoring and evaluation of the ARNS 2015-2025 and their roles will be described in more detail in the 3-year detailed implementation plan of this strategy.
The overall responsibility to oversee and guide the implementation of the ARNS 2015-2025 will lie with the AUC who will formulate the 3-year strategic plans, implement regional activities, monitor and evaluate progress and solicit support from AU Member States, Donors and Partners as required for successful implementation of the ARNS 2015-2025. However, the ATTFND, should continue to serve as a mechanism for annual review
of progress, identification of opportunities and obstacles, in-depth analysis of specific priority issues and technical and financial support on all issues related to the ARNS 2015-2025 and related African Food Security programs and initiatives.
