Milan: Irish Aid at SUN Global Gathering 2015

Irish Aid at SUN Global Gathering 2015

Irish Aid will attend the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Global Gathering 2015, which takes place in Milan, Italy from October 20-22. SUN prioritises efforts to tackle under nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood, and the event will showcase the efforts of the 55 SUN partner countries, will take stock of lessons learned and chart its future direction.

Participants include developing countries and donor agencies, the UN and other international organisations, civil society and the private sector. A key message from Ireland will be the priority of translating the commitment to tackle food security and under-nutrition from a global level to a more national one in developing countries, learning from and building on efforts through joint programmes across sectors such as health and agriculture.

Ireland is on track for meeting the Government commitment to double our spending on global nutrition by 2020.  As we continue to invest, Irish Aid is keen to champion women’s empowerment, as women are essential drivers of positive change in the fight against global malnutrition and under-nutrition.  Irish Aid also sees adequate nutrition as a key aspect of the resilience of vulnerable households to shocks and climate change.

Irish Aid supports a range of nutrition programmes with a particular focus on preventing stunting in early childhood.

Irish Aid supports a wide range of nutrition programmes in its partner countries, with a particular focus on preventing stunting in early childhood.An important strategy for Ireland is to target the ‘1,000 day window of opportunity’; this is the 1,000 days from a woman’s pregnancy through her child’s 2^nd birthday. This period lays the foundation for healthy growth, as well as physical and intellectual development.  Failure to tackle high rates of stunting undermines future national development.

In key partner countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Vietnam, Irish Aid supports nutrition programmes that educate community members in areas such as infant and child feeding, builds health services better able to prevent and respond to under-nutrition, and encourages the production and consumption of more nutritious crops. 

In humanitarian and crisis situations, Ireland provides emergency food assistance and supports the treatment of severe acute malnutrition.