Following G8 Summit, Uganda's MPs Pledge to Push Government to Fund the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan

Esther Nasikye, World Vision Uganda, Child Health Now Campaign Coordinator

Uganda’s Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, who represented President Museveni at the G8 Summit in London on June 8th, made a commitment on behalf of the Uganda Government to implement the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP). The UNAP has a target to reduce: stunting in children below five years to 27%, to reduce the amount of underweight children below five years to less than 10%, and to increase exclusive breast feeding in children up to six months of age to 75% by 2016.

Mbabzi said, 'Uganda will ensure a functional multi-sectoral coordination mechanism to promote nutrition right from the central to local government level and will also put in place an integrated nutrition surveillance system that takes stock of nutrition status at community, district and national levels'.

Mbabazi also noted that dispite the successes in the fight against malnutrition, the country still has unacceptably high levels of under nutrition with 33% of children under five years stunted, 14% underweight and 5% wasted or severely malnourished.

The London summit was a climax to a series of activities held in Uganda to mark the ‘Food For All’ campaign, Global Week of Action. One of the activities organised by World Vision Uganda in partnership with a Ugandan Civil Society Coalition on Scaling Up Nutrition (UCCO-SUN). On 6th June 2013, a policy dialogue took place which was attended by eleven Members of Parliament, representatives from the civil society organisations and the media. The forum was used to highlight the challenges of stunting and malnutrition in Uganda.

During the policy dialogue, a civil society statement was presented at the meeting and was handed over to Uganda’s delegation, called upon the Government to: prioritize investment in the implementation of the UNAP and to make reforms to ensure equitable access to land by citizens, as well as to protect citizens from land grabbing.Taking on the mantle of commitment, the Guest of Honour Hon, Jovah Kamateeka, in her closing remarks stated that,

'Since 2011, when the President (Yoweri K.Museveni) launched the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP), nothing has been done so far. As MPs, we promise to push the government to secure funding for the implementation of the UNAP as a way of reducing malnutrition levels in the country'.

The MPs noted that the reduction of malnutrition in the country calls for a concerted effort from key ministries, including: health, agriculture, disaster preparedness and government departments and agencies. MPs suggested that in addressing the problem, Ugandans must brace themselves for the following:

1. Sensitization: The MPs underscored the need for continuous sensitization on proper nutrition if stunting and malnutrition levels are to reduce.'We will conduct continuous sensitization of the community members especially during our meetings with the community', Jovah said. 'Village Health Teams and Community Development Facilitators would continuously sensitize the community members on the dangers of malnutrition', she added.

2. Policy Implementation: The MPs criticised the poor policy implementation in the country and requested other development partners to support the government in this regard.

'We shall also urge government to ensure the right policies are funded and implemented and will lobby local governments to put in place bylaws and ordinances to ensure every homestead is food secure and children enjoy good health', Hon. Jovia said.

Through its Child Health Now Campaign, World Vision is focusing on improving the nutrition status of Uganda’s children. Therefore it is important that the UNAP is implemented so that: a) there is improved access to and utilization of services related to maternal, infant and young child nutrition; b) the diversification of diets using locally available foods is enhanced; c) households are protected from impact shocks and other vulnerabilities that affect their nutritional status such as drought; and finally, d) the policy, legal and instructional frameworks are strengthened.