Kenya & Burundi Join the SUN Movement

Kenya and Burundi are the two latest countries to signal their commitment to scaling up nutrition.

Kenya confirmed its intention to join the SUN Movement through a letter sent on 30 August from Honourable Beth Hugo, Minister for Public Health and Sanitation. A national launch event was held on 9-10 of October to publicly announce the national commitment to the Movement. Minister Hugo noted that Kenya was addressing the challenges of malnutrition through adopting strategic policies and instigating multi-sectoral, legislative and constitutional measures. She further indicated that joining the SUN Movement and improving nutrition would yield returns for the Kenyan people through mortality reduction and by contributing to livelihoods and overall economic growth.

Kenya is making progress in policy implementation, as a stepping stone towards achieving national goals for scaling up nutrition. A bill to provide for appropriate marketing and distribution of breast milk substitutes, safe and adequate nutrition for infants through the promotion of breastfeeding and proper use of breast milk substitutes was passed on 20 September. Member of Parliament Amos Kimunya said, “We must ensure that we can be in a position to enforce what we introduce.” 

Burundi has been an active participant in the SUN Movement since July. The Government is placing children at the core of its national development to ensure that they benefit from the basic right to quality food. Burundi’s national strategic plan for nutrition is about to be finalized. It includes nine strategic axes, including reinforcement of political commitment, breastfeeding promotion, micronutrient supplementation and food fortification and the increased integration of nutrition interventions in primary health care.  A national multi-sectoral platform is under development.