UN Secretary-General renews SUN Movement Coordinator for second term

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has renewed the position held by Gerda Verburg as Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement for a second term, effective from August 1 2018. Ms. Verburg will continue to serve in the role until 31 July 2020.

In 2016-2017 the Coordinator focused on building on the momentum of the SUN Movement to date, with a goal of increasing high-level political commitment to nutrition, while encouraging member countries to go beyond focusing on an enabling environment for nutrition, to focus on implementation and results at scale.

The Coordinator conducted high-level country missions to SUN member countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam. The Coordinator also conducted missions to the States of India, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Globally, the Coordinator represented the SUN Movement during the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development where she facilitated the Thematic Review of SDG2. Ms. Verburg also moderated the Global Nutrition Summit 2017 in Milan as well as key events during the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome. She was also a keynote speaker during the CIVICUS International Civil Society Week in Suva, Fiji.

Building on the work of 2017, the Coordinator will continue escalating the political importance of investing from domestic resources in the nutrition of populations and for impact in member countries. Through each country visit and participation in regional and global decision-making fora, Ms. Verburg will focus on the following priorities for the SUN Movement:

1. The Scaling up multi-sectoral action in member countries, along with domestic and external investment in national nutrition plans
2. Focusing on nutrition in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, and how the SUN Movement can use its convening power to help in bridging the humanitarian and development divide, meanwhile encouraging donors to create incentives to support improved collaboration.
3. Tackle undernutrition alongside overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), by encouraging partnerships between countries with expertise in fighting obesity and SUN Movement Countries who are facing multiple burdens of malnutrition.
4. Ensure nutrition results by empowering women and girls through pro-gender equality policies, legislation and practices
5. Transform food systems to be sustainable, and nutrition sensitive, putting access and affordability at the center.

SUN Movement’s Coordinator

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