Hola Honduras! Welcome to the SUN Movement

On 16 May 2019, the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and SUN Movement Coordinator, Gerda Verburg, received the official letter signed by the Vice-Coordinator General of the Honduran Government Social Cabinet, Zoila Patricia Cruz Cerrato. The letter expressed the country’s interest in forming part of the SUN Movement. Honduras joins the SUN Movement with a strong commitment to eradicate all forms of malnutrition, promoting the harmonization and alignment of national-level efforts with a focus on equity, equality and non-discrimination.

Gerda Verburg, signing the letter welcoming Honduras to the SUN Movement

Honduras, the 61st country and the fourth Central American country to join the SUN Movement, brings with it a wealth of experience in the struggle against malnutrition. Honduras can also be a source of inspiration to other countries, after recently going through the process to update its National Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Strategy (PyENSAN 2030), together with the National Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Security (PLAN-SAN 2019-2023) and the Nutrition Action Plan (2019-2023), thanks to support from the European Union.

The updating of the PyENSAN 2030 demonstrates the Honduran government’s political commitment to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, particularly SDG2 for the eradication of hunger, tackling food insecurity and malnutrition, promoting both sustainable agriculture and food systems and promoting communities that are resilient to crises and climate change.

Processes at the national level have been aligned with the commitments assumed for the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, the commitments from the Second International Conference on Nutrition incorporated in the Rome Declaration on Nutrition (2014) and the implementation of the WHO World Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013-2020, as well as national planning instruments such as the national plan, national vision and government plan 2018-2030.

Gerda Verburg and Patricia Palma

The Honduran government, through the Government Secretariat of General Coordination and their delegation to the Food and Nutrition Security Technical Unit (UTSAN), thank the SUN Movement Coordinator and the Secretariat for accepting and incorporating Honduras to form a part of the accompaniment for PyENSAN 2030 policy implementation. They reiterate their willingness to adopt the methodologies and good practices suggested by the SUN Movement, as a unique initiative to eradicate malnutrition based on the principle that all people have the right to food and good nutrition.

The director of the IT Systems for Resilience in Food and Nutrition Security Programme in the SICA Region , Patricia Palma, has stated that, “the incorporation of Honduras in the SUN Movement confirms Central America’s commitment to eradicate the scourge of chronic malnutrition among its population. We know that this target represents the present and the future of the Region and requires greater efforts and everyone’s participation.”.

Gerda Verburg with ex-President Cerezo

The Secretary-General of SICA and the former President of the Republic of Guatemala, Vinicio Cerezo, has stated that, “in a world that has discovered how to eliminate hunger, every life lost due to malnutrition is a tragedy for humanity. In Central America, within the SICA framework, the commitment to food and nutrition security to eradicate malnutrition is seen every day in specific actions across the territory. This commitment is also evident in initiatives such as the incorporation of Hondruas to the SUN Movement. Cooperative and multilateral initiatives, partnerships between the public and the private are needed to build a region of opportunities.”.

The SUN Movement welcomes Honduras joining the other Central American countries and the rest of the world, and we express the support from all SUN countries for moving forward in promoting nutrition on a national, regional and global level