Tokelo Khausela
CHILD malnutrition remains a critical challenge for Africa requiring African Union (AU) member states to enhance a collective approach to tackle the problem, Prime Minister Sam Matekane has said.
The premier spoke at the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this past weekend.
The summit focused on economic development, regional integration, trade partnerships, infrastructure projects, and collaborative efforts to address common challenges.
The AU theme for 2024 is “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa”.
On the sidelines of the event, the AU also hosted a high-level side meeting dubbed, “Addressing Malnutrition: Catalyzing Africa’s Transformation through Enhanced Multi-Sectoral Investment.”
The session reviewed the progress made by nutrition leaders towards achieving nutrition targets set in the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), the Malabo Declaration, the World Health Assembly and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
AU Member States were urged during the session to re-commit and align their national strategic objectives to continental and global nutrition agendas.
On behalf of King Lesie III, who is the African Union Champion for Nutrition and the Food and Agriculture Oganisation’s Goodwill Ambassador for Nutrition, Mr Matekane said approximately 86 million children aged below five years in Africa were facing various forms of malnutrition, 63 million were stunted while 10 million were overweight and 3 million were wasted (too thin).
“Africa’s children suffer the worst consequences of malnutrition. The findings of the Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) studies have shown that malnutrition has far-reaching implications, not only on individual health but also on societal progress, hindering educational attainment and diminishing work productivity, with many African countries losing around 1.9 to 16.5 percent pf Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually,” the Prime Minister said.
“The cost of a healthy diet of USD3.6 (M68.41) per person, per day; is not affordable to many people and the number of undernourished people in Africa is projected to increase to 51.5 percent, making a focus on transforming food systems an urgent priority.
“Africa is making notable progress in ensuring that our children are well nourished, and well equipped to face the future. In 2023, at least 30 percent of children under five years were stunted, down from 34 percent in 2012. In addition, the number of African Union (AU) member states with high prevalence of stunting has declined from 46 in 2012 to 28 in 2023. Although the progress is noteworthy, 15 countries have a high prevalence exceeding 30 percent, and are home to 42 million out of the 63 million children that are stunted on the continent. The progress that the continent has made in reducing stunting, is too slow to help us achieve the target of a 40 percent reduction by 2025.
“Apart from stunting, countries were expected to ensure there was no increase in the prevalence of overweight children under five years by 2025. Over the last decade, the number of overweight children has increased from 8.8 million in 2012 to 10.2 million in 2022. Close to 25 countries in Africa are not on track to achieve the World Health Assembly target. Only 10 countries are on track to meet the targets.”
Mr Matekane also said only 19 AU member states were on track to reduce and maintain childhood wasting to below 5 percent. Member states such as South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia were said to have the highest burden of childhood wasting.
Mr Matekane called African Union member states to adopt stronger policies and increase financing for nutrition to turn the tide of malnutrition and secure the future of our children
“It is time to strengthen our close collaboration with government bodies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector to formulate comprehensive strategies and action plans that are sensitive to our context “
“By proactively tackling malnutrition we can profoundly influence the well-being and prospects of individuals and communities alike. Let us heed this call to action and forge ahead with unwavering determination, knowing that our collective efforts today will shape a healthier and more prosperous future for the next generations.”
He said as leaders it was incumbent upon them to initiate action to maintain the current momentum towards fighting malnutrition.
“I would like to suggest that we establish a system to honor or award champions for their remarkable contributions towards addressing malnutrition in all forms and we must also enhance our collective action among African Union member states in addressing the multifaceted challenges of malnutrition and its repercussions on development through commitment of domestic resources,” the premier said.
He further said the AU theme of this year which focuses on education, presented yet another unique opportunity for Member States to drive increased integration of nutrition within the education sector.
