SUN Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean convene first SUN Movement Regional Gathering

December 12, 2022 - Last update: November 6, 2023

A Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Regional Gathering for the Latin America and Caribbean region is being convened 13-15 December in Panama City, Panama under the theme “One region, one goal: better nutrition for all” by the region’s six SUN Countries -- Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru.

The event brings together nutrition leaders from government, civil society including youths and women, United Nations agencies, academia, parliamentarians and the private sector. More than 120 participants from the six SUN Countries and four additional observer countries from the region (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia and Panama) are expected to take part in the live event, in addition to even more stakeholders from across the region connecting virtually.

Together, they will explore together and agree on opportunities and priority actions, set ambitions, and endorse the SUN Movement Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Roadmap and Action Plan for 2023.

Ms Gerda Verburg, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, said: “This Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Regional Gathering for the Latin America and Caribbean region comes at a critical time as countries across the region, just as those elsewhere, grapple with the shocks from an increased cost of living, high fuel costs, the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, which have converged to create a significant food and nutrition insecurity crisis. The discussions that regional nutrition leaders will have at the Regional Gathering will pave a way forward through the current crisis towards building regional resilience against future crises. My hope is that ambitions will be set high and commitments to act will be set even higher. Together, working as one region with one goal, this can be achieved.”

The event will offer participants an opportunity to take stock of progress, and to exchange key knowledge and experiences through a series of rich dialogue sessions covering such topics as: nutrition finance and resource mobilization, the role of the private sector, implementing Nutrition for Growth commitments, multisectoral information systems for nutrition, systemic change through food systems pathways, developing and implementation of a Knowledge Management plan, high level advocacy and stakeholder mapping, linking social protection and nutrition, and leveraging regional bodies.

Participants will also showcase their own successful nutrition-related activities and good practices in a showcase gallery exhibit – including posters, flyers, videos and more.

The event will also be an opportunity for SUN Movement members and partners across the region to be introduced to the movement’s new Panama City-based LAC Regional Hub launched earlier this year and SUN LAC Regional Representative, Francisca Gomez Cisterna.

The SUN LAC Regional Hub priority work is currently focused on strengthening partnerships with the Latin America and Caribbean regional bodies to better position nutrition, expansion of the SUN Movement to other countries in the Latin American region, development of the local SUN Business network for nutrition and the SUN Academia network, and to facilitate knowledge exchanges through such activities as the Regional Gathering.

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