East and Southern Africa

In 1992, two out of every three Ethiopian children were stunted. At 67 per cent, the country’s stunting prevalence was among the highest in the world. Over the next 25 years, stunting declined steadily. By 2016, prevalence had been cut by almost half, to 38 per cent.

Kenya joined SUN in August 2012. Through SUN and the SUN Networks, the country has been supported through smart planning, to ensure costed multi-sectoral nutrition action plans exist at national and county levels. The Civil Society Alliance has been essential to mobilise resources for nutrition, at the sub-national level.

Rwanda joined SUN in December 2011. Since then, the country has introduced a community for health workers, to reduce the four top killers – malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malnutrition – diseases key to fight maternal and child mortality. 98 per cent of Rwandans are now covered by the community-based health insurance programme focused on local ownership of the country’s future, and the ‘one cow per family’ programme has increased household income and the consumption of milk – leading to reductions in extreme poverty and malnutrition in rural areas.