Message from Abidjan: Investing in Nutrition for a Sustainable Future in Africa

November 21, 2017 - Last update: February 10, 2023

During the closing ceremony of the SUN Global Gathering (SUNGG17), the SUN Movement Coordinator, Gerda Verburg, presented the “Message from Abidjan” to the Vice President of Côte d’Ivoire, His Excellency Daniel Kablan Duncan, on behalf of the SUN Movement, for the Vice-President to share with African and European Heads of States at the upcoming African Union-European Union Summit in Abidjan 29-30 November 2017.

The central theme for the African Union-European Union Summit is “investing in youth for a sustainable future”, focusing on how to create opportunities for Africa’s growing young population. As discussed during the three days of the #SUNGG17, good nutrition is the starting point and the foundation of a sustainable future. With the right nutrition, children and youth can develop to reach their full potential, healthy and equipped to succeed in school and at the workplace.

The “Message from Abidjan” emphasizes the critical importance of functional and healthy food systems and nutrition for a sustainable future in Africa. Malnutrition is currently hampering human and economic development, with 59 million African children stunted, while overweight, obesity and chronic diseases are increasing, creating a double burden of malnutrition. Nutrition is essential for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, particularly to reach targets relating to health, education, employment, women’s empowerment, reduction of poverty and inequality and the promotion of peaceful societies.

Scaled up investment in nutrition is urgently needed and it cannot wait, since poor nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life can have irreversible negative effects on children’s brains and bodies. The “Message from Abidjan” reiterates that “improving nutrition is a smart investment: one dollar yields 16 dollars in return, boosting economic development by 10 per cent or more”.

The most important infrastructure? The brain’s! Focus on grey-matter infrastructure for a more prosperous #Africa @akin_adesina #SUNGG17 pic.twitter.com/id45kGC0de

— AfDB_Group (@AfDB_Group) November 7, 2017

For the first time, the SUN Movement Global Gathering has taken place in a member country of the SUN Movement, and specifically in an African country, Côte d’Ivoire. In 2017, 39 of the 60 member countries of the SUN Movement are African, showing the growing momentum for addressing malnutrition across the African continent.

The “Message from Abidjan” encourages African and European leaders to place nutrition at the heart of sustainable development and translate commitments into concrete results, to implement effective interventions at scale to end malnutrition, leaving no one behind. Ending malnutrition requires political commitment, large-scale investments in sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food production and consumption, and coordinated implementation of multisectoral interventions. All stakeholders, African, European or international Governments, the United Nations, civil society, business and academia, are invited to work together to eliminate malnutrition in Africa.

“Children suffering from malnutrition in early life are more likely to have learning difficulties at school compared to well-nourished children”

Message from Abidjan

The 5th African Union – European Union Summit

The 5th African Union – European Union Summit will be held on 29-30 November 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire under the central theme “Investing in youth for a sustainable future.” The AU-EU summit takes place every three years, gathering Heads of States and Government together with the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission and the African Union and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to outline political priorities and guide regional collaboration under the Joint Africa-EU Strategy which was launched in 2007. African and European Leaders will take stock of the progress made since the Brussels Summit in 2014, give political guidance in order to jointly address current and future challenges and deepen their strategic partnership.