By Isatou Jawara
The United Nations Deputy Secretary General Ms Gerda Verburg and the Sun Movement Coordinator will be in the Gambia today for a three-day visit for the first time from7 to 9 May, 2018.
The Deputy Secretary General will be meeting with a cross-section of development partners, donor organizations, private sector and parliamentarians and the rural communities.
The purpose of her visit is to assess the project intervention of the National Nutrition Agency (BANA) as Gambia is member of Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement which is a movement with vision to eradicate hunger and malnutrition around the world.
The Gambia sets to operationalize the National Development Plan (2018-2021) and her visit will be center of four strategic objectives of the National Development Plan which relates to the SUN movement.
While briefing the Press about her visit, the executive director of NaNa Mr Momodou Faal said: “The Gambia joined the SUN Movement at the time when the National Nutrition Agency was established in 2000 under the National Nutrition Policy 2000-2004. In the Gambia, nutrition has been recognized as high priority in the socio economic development and NaNa is the focal point of the SUN Movement in the Gambia.”
According to the Director, the SUN Movement is multi sectoral platform which includes government, private sector, civil society and the media which meet quarterly basis to discuss nutritional problems around the world.
“The principle is to ensure that the movement is flexible while maintaining the common purpose. Currently there are over 60 countries that are part of the SUN Movement globally. The movement serves to strengthen the harmonization, coordination and effectiveness of UN agencies,” he said.
“It is very key to engage the civil society and media to advocate for the eradication of malnutrition. If we don’t fix the malnutrition problem the health system will never be OK. A lot of investment has been done but still facing the same situation. It affects the pregnant women whose lives are at risk,” he added.
