Mrs. Naadu Mills (left) and USAID Director Ms. Anderson (speaking) at the launch of the SUN movement.
On Thursday, December 8, 2011, Ghana joined the over 20 countries who are members of the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Ghana’s First Lady Mrs. Naadu Mills launched the SUN initiative at an impressive ceremony in Accra. USAID-Ghana Director, Ms Cheryl Anderson, delivered remarks on behalf of all the development partners.
SUN is a multi-stakeholder global effort to reduce hunger and under-nutrition. Mrs. Mills commended Ghana for the adoption of the SUN Initiative, because it would play a critical role in bringing together organizations across all sectors to support national plans to scale up nutrition by helping to ensure that financial and technical resources were accessible. The SUN Framework is a perfect example of how agriculture and health interventions have to come together to make inroads in improving nutritional status. Nutrition serves as a the nexus for the US Global Health Initiative and Food Security Initiative, Feed the Future.
The SUN movement is for all countries whose populations experience under-nutrition and for all stakeholders committed to providing support. In Ghana 8 out of 10 children under 5, and 1 out 5 women of childbearing age suffer from some form of under nutrition, including stunting, wasting, anemia, and deficiencies in iron, iodine and Vitamin A. Investing in nutrition will boost economic productivity, save lives, and improve the well-being of Ghanaians, particularly women, girls and children. SUN brings together over 100 organizations and governments committed to work together to fight hunger and under-nutrition.
USAID Ghana Mission Director's Remarks.