AfDB Steps Up Action to Save 216m Children at Risk of Dying Before Age Five

Ugo Aliogo with agency report

At least 216 million African children suffer from stunting and malnutrition.

In sub-Saharan Africa, malnutrition is the second leading cause of death among children after malaria, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has stated.

In a statement, the bank stated that it was stepping up its actions and called for mobilisation both in Africa and worldwide, adding that in 2016, it launched the African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) initiative as an advocacy tool that would enable African countries to work with partners to boost nutrition on the continent.

The statement also noted that backed by the African Union, the initiative also requests African governments to commit part of their budgets to reducing malnutrition, adding that in particular, countries are invited to implement policies and interventions to combat malnutrition through agriculture, the food system and education, in tandem with various development partners.

The statement noted that as part of desire to demonstrate its commitment to combating malnutrition in Africa, in 2018, the Bank also unveiled the Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan.

AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumni Adesina, said: “I am greatly honoured by the United Nations Secretary General appointing me among global leaders to tackle global malnutrition. Thank you SG. I look forward to helping to deliver on this agenda.”

The statement further explained that the plan seeks to mobilise additional financial resources for smart nutrition investments in the key sectors of agriculture, education, health, social protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene to reduce child stunting on the continent by 40 per cent through 2025, noting that those sectors account for over 30 per cent of public spending in Africa and are the underlying drivers of nutrition.

The statement averred that so far, the Bank has allocated nearly $2.8 billion of its portfolio to smart nutrition, on a baseline of USD 0.70 billion in 2018, broken down as follows: health (USD 531 million), agriculture (USD 950 million), WASH (USD 650 million) and social protection (USD 605 million).

According to the statement, “Moreover, the bank is continually stepping up initiatives to ensure that thousands of African children have the chance to celebrate their fifth birthday.” Through the “Banking on Nutrition programme, a partnership with Big Win Philanthropy and the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the Bank is leading the urgent fight against infant malnutrition.

“The programme is mainstreaming nutrition into regional and national strategies and work to increase the production and consumption of healthy, nutritious food through the mobilisation of partnerships, governments and the private sector.

“For example, in the Sahel region, which faces enormous impacts from climate change including desertification, drought, erosion, flooding and political insecurity, the bank is implementing a specific regional programme on food security and nutrition.

“The programme to build resilience to food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel exemplifies the sort of collaboration the Bank seeks to establish with other development partners to combat malnutrition.”