International Meeting - Materials

Civil Society Statement on SUN

Meeting Summary Report

Video Messages, Presentations, & Other Materials


Working Groups

1. Advocacy and Communications

Co-facilitators: Venkatesh Mannar, Micronutrient Initiative/SUN TF B, and Peter Milton Rukundo, Organizing Secretary, Uganda Action for Nutrition (UGAN) and Lecturer, Kayambogo University, Kampala, Uganda

This working group will focus on opportunities to increase the visibility, understanding, and support for 1,000 Days/SUN at the country and global levels and on the role of civil society and other SUN stakeholders in advocacy. Participants will contribute to the development of an advocacy strategy in the lead-up to the 1,000 Days partnership follow-up meeting in September 2011 (on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly) and to the G-20 Summit. They will also discuss necessary components of advocacy at the national level. The session will focus on the advocacy and communication tools that are needed at the country and global levels to strengthen the SUN movement, including a joint civil society declaration in support of SUN to key decision makers, including national governments, donors, and multilateral institutions.

Questions to consider:

  1. What do participants consider as advocacy and communications? What components contribute to effective  advocacy and communication?
  2. What are some of the key opportunities and barriers to engaging in advocacy efforts in your country and at the regional and global level? (As part of this, participants could share some of their experiences and learning from engaging in SUN or other advocacy initiatives at the national level).
  3. Task Force B has been working to produce a number of advocacy and communications tools for civil society and other stakeholders to help explain and mobilize support for SUN, including key messages, a calendar of events, and Frequently Asked Questions (intended as guides, to be used and adapted as needs dictate for the specific context). Are these the right tools and are they useful in your context? What else would be necessary/useful?
  4. In the run-up to the anniversary meeting in September and the G-20 Summit, what are some of the key targets and opportunities to influence? What advocacy approaches and tools would be useful in these efforts?
  5. Does the draft declaration convey the urgency and the key messages of addressing undernutrition? How might you use it once you return home?

    2. Capacity Building

    Co-facilitators: Eileen Kennedy, Tufts/SUN TF A, and Nathalie Ernoult, Médicins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders

    This working group will focus on ascertaining the nature and scope of the capacity needs of governments and civil society to scale up nutrition efforts and engage in the SUN movement. Discussions will consider the various human, institutional, political, advocacy, and managerial capacity needs, particularly at the country level. This will include capacity needs for both direct nutrition interventions and for work on the design, implementation, and monitoring of multi-sectoral programs. Participants will take stock of and share examples of existing capacity building and training initiatives/mechanisms as well as lessons learned, and identify some of the main gaps and constraints to bringing nutrition efforts to scale. Based on an agreed prioritization of the capacity needs, the group will develop recommendations to enhance capacity in nutrition programming, considering the broader issues of governance, accountability, and incentives.

    Questions to Consider:

    1. What are some of the key constraints to scaling up nutrition interventions at the national level – considering both nutrition-specific and multi-sectoral interventions? At what level are these primarily? (The national level? The district level?).
    2. What are some of the main capacity challenges to bringing nutrition interventions to scale and to engaging with the SUN movement at the national and global levels?
    3. What efforts are needed to address these gaps? Are any of these already under way?
    4. Given the various gaps identified, what should be the top priorities?
    5. What would be effective mechanisms for sustainable capacity building for scaling up nutrition interventions?
    6. What should be the roles of the various stakeholders (national governments, development partners, the private sector, international NGOs) in carrying out capacity building efforts?

      3. SUN Implementation at the Country Level

      Co-facilitators: Agnes Aongola, Ministry of Health, Zambia, and Paul Amuna, Trustee, African Nutrition Society

      This working group will take stock of progress since September 2010. It will focus on the process of engaging countries in the SUN movement and also on engaging the multiple stakeholders within countries. It will look at what has worked, what hasn't, and what needs to happen now. What are the key challenges/barriers that countries face—internally and in working with the international community? As part of this discussion, the group will also consider the role civil society should play within the SUN process at the country level.

      Questions to consider:

      1. How did you hear about SUN?
      2. What impact has the SUN process had on getting attention and resources for nutrition?
      3. What are some of the early successes as a result of SUN?
      4. What are some of the challenges that you see for scaling up? Is the SUN movement making a difference in addressing those challenges? If not, why not?
      5. What are the different roles of the various stakeholders in supporting SUN implementation at the country level?
      6. Does the draft declaration adequately address the role of civil society in implementing SUN at the country level?
      7. How can the international community better support national and sub-national governments and local civil society in efforts to scale up nutrition?

        4. Nutrition Sensitive/Intersectoral Approaches

        Co-facilitators: Victoria Quinn, Helen Keller International, and Marie Ruel, International Food Policy Research Institute

        This working group will focus on the opportunities to scale up nutrition through programmatic approaches in sectors related to nutrition, including agriculture and food security, social protection, health, and education. It will highlight programs that have been successful and could potentially be scaled up, as well as identify best practices in this area. It will discuss how the SUN movement could facilitate better coordination among key sectors and stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, in order to create strong nutrition outcomes.

        Questions to consider:

        1. What are some successful approaches to improving maternal and child nutrition through agricultural investments? Social safety-net programs? Health and education programs?
        2. What stands in the way of leveraging nutrition outcomes in sectors such as agriculture?
        3. What are the key challenges in programming across sectors?
        4. Is SUN helping to facilitate planning and programming across sectors? If yes, how? If not, why not?
        5. What are the research needs in this area?
        6. How can the international community, donors, and NGOs facilitate programming across sectors?
        7. Does the draft declaration adequately address the importance of working across sectors to scale up nutrition?


          We will renew the 1,000 Days Call to Action to increase the political will to improve maternal and child nutrition.

          Additional Resources

          Bread for the World
          Twitter Flickr Facebook Youtube Myspace RSS