AFRICAN YEAR OF NUTRITION: EXPERTS CALL FOR URGENT ACTION TO BUILD NUTRITIONAL RESILIENCE AND FOOD SECURITY ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

Abidjan, December 09, 2022- The closing ceremony of the high-level meeting on the theme of the African Year of Nutrition was marked by a series of recommendations from the meeting of experts contained in an official declaration known as Abidjan , in which the focus was on the need to take action to end malnutrition in all its forms on the African continent. This, taking into account the specific needs of each country. These statements were read by the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Cessouma Samaté, in the presence of the Vice-President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Thursday, December 08, 2022 at Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire. Experts called for a focus on children, youth, adolescents, women, people with disabilities and especially vulnerable groups. It was also about the need to take urgent steps to build strong partnerships in a coordinated approach to nutrition with all stakeholders, the private sector and communities (women, children, civil society organizations) to end famine and malnutrition on the African continent. Participants also selected a list of sustainable food systems that are climate sensitive and environmentally friendly. The declaration insisted on the strong need to invest in the coordination of actions at the internal and external level to obtain results. While advocating that the gender component be taken into account, the experts called for the integration of nutrition at the national and continental level, the mobilization of resources and the implementation of the Malabo declaration on nutritional security.

The African Union Commission has been requested to ensure the implementation and follow-up of all these high-level recommendations and to report next February, in order to build nutritional resilience and food security on the African continent. On behalf of President Alassane Ouattara, Vice-President Tiémoko Meyliet Koné expressed his satisfaction and gratitude to the Chairman of the AU Commission who supported this initiative from Abidjan. For Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, the evolution of the world in 2022 has enabled African States to become more aware of the interest in accelerating and consolidating gains in food and nutrition resources. And that the work of Abidjan has shown that the African continent has the necessary resources that could be better valued and optimized to face all these challenges.