Scaling Up Nutrition in Liberia - FAO participates in the Annual Assessment Forum

Monrovia - The fight against malnutrition is one of the priorities of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations which forms part of its Country Programming Framework (CPF) for Liberia.   

Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a global issue for every country. Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related noncommunicable diseases.

FAO has since 2022 embarked on a massive campaign to combat malnutrition by engaging in a Smallholder Agricultural Development project that will improve food and nutrition security and reduce poverty among targeted rural communities in six counties.

The project aimed at enhancing access to agricultural inputs for smallholder farmers to facilitate food production and training of master trainers and lead farmers as facilitators in line with the priority value chains specified (rice, cassava, and vegetables) under the project. 

On Tuesday, 13 February 2024, as part of a collaborative effort in combating malnutrition in Liberia, the FAO join other partners of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement to raise awareness as well as contribute to the SUN MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning) system.

The four days forum which brought together representatives from UN institutions, donors, the private sector, civil society, and the Government of Liberia was aimed at putting nutrition discussion at the front burner and creating a national policy that will address all forms of undernutrition as well as monitor and analyze its implementation.  

Speaking at the forum, FAO One UN Nutrition Facilitator, Caroline Kou Nyaplue Daywhea indicated the importance of the four days gathering by emphasizing its alignment with an ongoing project titled: Fostering “One UN” through the UN Nutrition Country Support which is funded by the Government of Ireland (Irish Aid).

She said it was the collective efforts and commitment of the Government of Liberia, led by the Ministry of Health, with support from other relevant line ministries which includes the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection along with SUN secretariat, INGOs and the United Nations Nutrition Secretariat that made the gathering possible.

Mrs. Daywhea also thanked the office of the Vice President for giving maximum support to fighting undernutrition in Liberia by supporting and being a part of the gathering.

The 2023 SUN movement joint annual assessment served as a forum to build trust strengthen accountability and provide SUN members with opportunities to contribute to the overall development of the SUN movement, as well as contribute to the SUN MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning system).

“We hope that the four-day deliberation among stakeholders will document experiences and lessons learned on scaling up nutrition as well innovations to accelerate better progress toward the achievement of the national nutrition targets,” said FAO National UN Nutrition Facilitator Mrs. Daywhea.

Currently, 1 in 9 people – 820 million worldwide – are hungry or undernourished, with numbers rising since 2015, especially in Africa, West Asia, and Latin America.

Global leaders affirmed a vision for a world that 'leaves no one behind' by committing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This vision includes a world free from malnutrition in all its forms.