The challenges of improving nutrition in Mozambique and the engagement of the private sector

* Originally published by the SUN Business Network

The SUN Business Network Mozambique (SBNMoz) gathered around 200 participants, including national businesses, government representatives, civil society and academia, at its 3rd annual conference, To discuss the challenges of improving nutrition in Mozambique. The theme of this years’ conference was “Food Systems as a Means of Promoting Nutrition in Mozambique”. The event was organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) and with the support of the Technical Secretariat for Food and Nutrition Security (SETSAN).

The event was held in two sessions:

The first session, the “Meeting of the SUN Movement Platforms in Mozambique” discussed recommendations for the private sector within the framework of nutrition promotion initiatives.

Graça Machel, the President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC), was the keynote speaker of this first session, addressing the participants on “how to capitalise the role of the SUN Movement’s platforms on behalf of nutrition in Mozambique”. Graça Machel declared that “it’s time to act. We all have to roll up our sleeves, get out of our offices and go to the field and give our contribution with concrete actions”. She added that “we have the infrastructure to reduce malnutrition, but we are still struggling with chronic malnutrition at a prevalence rate of 43%. Why? Our job is to implement”. Graça Machel challenged the private sector by saying that “conditions should be created to ensure that every Mozambican child can eat at least one egg per week, so that we will ensure better nutrition for all”.

The second part of the event was aimed at the private sector and focused on “Food Systems as a Means of Promoting Nutrition”. Higino de Marrule, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security opened the session and took the opportunity to announce the presence of Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN and Maria de Andrade from the International Potato Centre (CIP), Laureates of the 2018 and 2016 World Food Prizes.

“We will do everything so that the different actors find an enabling environment to develop their activities, independently and impartially, creating incentives and facilitating the execution of their actions”, said Higino de Marrule.

In the coming weeks, SBNMoz will carry out province level roundtables, where participants will have the opportunity to continue discussions around the challenges in the food system and the promotion of nutrition in Mozambique.

Animated discussion about what government can do for businesses that want to advance nutrition: (1) general- finance, roads, electricity, less red tape and (2) specific – prioritise value chains for nutritious foods. ⁦@SBNMozambique⁩ ⁦@SUNBizNet⁩ ⁦@GAINalliance⁩ pic.twitter.com/ZtdbbrqEcE

— Lawrence Haddad (@l_haddad) February 21, 2019