Scaling Up Nutrition

Maseru.- The Government of Lesotho and the United Nations Office hosted Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and UN Assistant Secretary-General Ms. Gerda Verburg who will be arriving on her mission to Lesotho from 1st to 3rd May 2017.

The SUN Movement, which the Kingdom of Lesotho joined in 2014, has inspired a new way of working collaboratively across sectors and with all relevant stakeholders to end malnutrition in all its forms everywhere, since its creation in 2010. With the governments of the 59 SUN Countries and three States of India in the lead, it unites people from the civil society, the United Nations agencies, donors, businesses and researchers—in a collective effort to improve nutrition. 

Ms. Verburg has been serving as Coordinator of the SUN Movement since her appointment by ex-Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in August 2016. The SUN Coordinator looks forward to working with Governments and other nutrition stakeholders in Southern Africa to accelerate country-level results and lasting human impact.

The mission has also been inspired by the recognition of His Majesty, King Letsie III, as Africa’s “Champion for Nutrition” by the African Union and as Special Ambassador for Nutrition by the Food and Agriculture Organization which demonstrates Africa’s and Lesotho’s commitment in particular, to fight malnutrition at the highest levels. The recent launch of the Lesotho National Nutrition Policy and the results of the Cost of Hunger Study (COHA) are testimony to this commitment. This mission was organized by the Food and Nutrition Coordinating Office (FNCO) under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s office.

Mrs. Verburg met with His Majesty, King Letsie and the Right Honorable and commended Lesotho on these significant milestones and discussed potential ways to maximize the impact of existing structures and actions. The mission will also met with various high level government officials and representatives of the United Nations, civil society, donors and the business community involved in fighting malnutrition, to encourage further engagement and alignment of all stakeholders behind well-coordinated multi-sectoral actions that lead to tangible results and impact.

For more information please contact:

Masekonyela Sebotsa, FNCO, Lesotho:  masekonyelasebotsa@yahoo.com

Refiloe Kepa Director Information, Lesotho: +266 6288 2908

Thuy Nguyen, Communications Advisor, SUN Secretariat : thuy.nguyen@scalingupnutrition.org

Follow us on Twitter: @UNLesotho and @SUN_Movement