Welcome to the SUN Movement, Djibouti!

Photo: @UNICEF/Noorani

18 November 2021, Geneva – Today, UN Assistant Secretary-General and SUN Movement Coordinator, Ms Gerda Verburg, received a letter from the Government of the Republic of Djibouti expressing their interest in joining the Movement, signed by Minister of Health, Dr Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh. The letter was also addressed to key SUN Movement partner UNICEF, and their representative in-country, Ms Melva Johnson. Djibouti is the third country to join the Movement in 2021, following the adhesion of Ecuador in May and Sao Tomé and Principe in June. This makes Djibouti the 65^th member State to join the Movement since its creation in 2010.

Djibouti, situated in the Horn of Africa, has recently graduated to a low-middle-income country status. Despite significant economic growth, poverty rates stand at 79 percent, with 42 percent of women, men and their families living in extreme poverty. This is a critical time for the country in their plight to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. Djibouti today faces an acute malnutrition rate of 10.3 percent, while some 20 percent of girls and boys are stunted, and 17 percent of children have low birthweight. The exclusive breastfeeding rate stands at 53.3 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.

Djibouti joins SUN “considering that malnutrition represents a major public health problem having an impact on the survival of mother and child and given the close link and vicious circle between the burden of malnutrition and poverty,” argues Minister of Health Abdilleh.

The SUN Movement entered its third phase in 2021, with a new strategy that places country ownership and leadership for nutrition at its core.

I am proud to welcome the Republic of Djibouti as the 65^th member State of the SUN Movement. This is a critical time for SUN, but also for our member countries who are struggling to ensure good nutrition for all women, men and children, in the midst of a climate crisis, insufficient food systems and increasing inequalities and poverty, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SUN Movement stands ready to assist and support Djibouti scale up nutrition and fight all forms of malnutrition to reach national and global goals. – Gerda Verburg, SUN Movement Coordinator

Djibouti joining the SUN Movement represents a willingness to adopt a model of multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral coordination and integrated management, as well as sharing and learning methodologies and good practices, through this unique initiative to eradicate malnutrition.  Why Djibouti has chosen to join SUN is outlined in the letter sent by Minister Abdilleh.

We support the goals of the SUN Movement, which aims to reinforce nutrition and represents a new effort to eliminate all forms of malnutrition, on the premise that everyone has the right to good food and nutrition. Given the availability of several actors intervening directly or indirectly in the fight against malnutrition and the weakness in their coordination we show interest in being part of the SUN Movement with technical support from United Nations agencies (UNICEF, WFP, FAO, WHO, UNFPA). – Dr Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, Minister of Health of Djibouti