Summary The Civil Society Network Secretariat (CSNS) plans to organise a series of meetings with CSN Members to come together and share experiences and perspectives on how the global commodity price increases are impacting nutrition in different contexts. The event on May 25th will be offered as the first of an ongoing series of global […]
LireToutes les infos de la région East and Southern Africa
Ukraine conflict highlights the fragility of the global food system and will have damaging impact on nutrition of the most vulnerable, warns SUN Movement’s Civil Society Network.
Members of the SUN Movement’s Civil Society Network are already reporting food shortages and escalation in prices due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which will have knock-on effects on the state of nutrition globally. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are among the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world. Organisations such as […]
LireInternational Women’s Day: Interview with Martha Nyagaya
Are you a women working in food systems, what do you do? Yes, I am Nutrition International’s Country Director in Kenya. In this role I lead program planning, development and implementation of multisectoral nutrition programs. I also manage relations with Donors, Government of Kenya and other key local stakeholders. As the Chair of the SUN […]
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The African Union Year of Nutrition
At their annual meeting in February of 2022, the African Union declared 2022 ‘The Year of Nutrition for Africa’. This is an exciting initiative as it will shine a spotlight on nutrition in Africa and push for greater political commitment on nutrition and increased investment to address the ongoing malnutrition challenges. The AU will strive […]
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Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network Commitment
This week, actors across the nutrition community including representatives from governments, businesses, academics and members of civil society came together to make bold pledges towards the UN nutrition targets at the Nutrition for Growth Summit. The Civil Society Network (CSN) is part of Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), a world-wide Movement to end malnutrition. Our diverse […]
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World Breastfeeding Week 2021: Zimbabwe changes Parliament for the better
With more women parliamentarians than ever before, it is crucial that facilities are available for women to adequately nourish their child during its first 1000 days. In Zimbabwe, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care chairperson Dr Ruth Labode said “We now have more young female legislators in Parliament who have children and are breastfeeding.” It […]
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5 things we learnt from the 2020 Civil Society Annual Survey
Our membership is huge! With civil society presence in nearly 50 countries, we always knew we were a large network. But after gathering the data from this year’s Annual Survey we have discovered that we have an incredible 4212 member organisations in the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN)!1 This number has increased […]
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The SUN Civil Society Network launches its new 5-year strategy!
Why do we need a new CSN strategy? The Civil Society Network 3.0 strategy (2021-2025) constitutes an essential guide to rally all civil society members’ collective efforts behind a strong mission and vision. The CSN 3.0 strategy was designed for the Network by the Network, in alignment with the overall SUN Movement 3.0 strategy. As such, the […]
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Meet the women of the CSN: Georgine Obwana
Program Officer, Civil Society Alliance for Nutrition Uganda (CISANU) My work in nutrition First of all I am the Program Officer – Networking and Institutional Development for Civil Society Alliance for Nutrition Uganda (CISANU). CISANU is the Civil Society Alliance (CSA) in Uganda formed through a coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and academia. Under […]
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Meet the women of the CSN: Jane Napais Lankisa
Youth Leader for Nutrition, Kenya My work in nutrition I am a global youth leader for nutrition under the SUN youth leaders program. My work revolves around nutrition advocacy with a specific interest in adolescent nutrition. Based in Kenya, I champion for optimum nutrition among young people and children by extension. My passion for nutrition […]
LireYouth Leader for Nutrition, Kenya
My work in nutrition
I am a global youth leader for nutrition under the SUN youth leaders program. My work revolves around nutrition advocacy with a specific interest in adolescent nutrition. Based in Kenya, I champion for optimum nutrition among young people and children by extension.
My passion for nutrition started back in 2013 before I joined university to pursue my course. One time my aunt kept telling us that her child got sick every now and then only to find out that they were malnourished. That triggered something and made me curious to know more about nutrition in order to help my family and my community, to know best nutrition practice in order to avoid the instances of the child being sick every now and then.
The role of women
Women have more nutrients demand because of the natural stages they undergo like menstruation, pregnancy and lactating. Good nutrition for women determines the health and future of the unborn generation. In order to end the vicious cycle of malnutrition, more nutrition should be enhanced in women.
Women play an important role in scaling up nutrition because when we empower women, we accelerate the end of hunger hence preventing surge of malnutrition.
Being a woman is a blessing and a challenge as well. As a young woman, it is quite fascinating working with other fellow women because it’s easier for me to relate to their nutrition and health experiences and the majority are so responsive and receptive to my advocacy duties.
Conversely, being a woman presents its portion of challenges. First, a number of leadership policies do not favor us. Here in Kenya, there is a two-third gender rule showing unbalanced gender representation. Fewer women are ranked on top leadership position translating to few women role models to look up to.Secondly, cultures and traditions put men on top, meaning, I (representative of other young women) have to work twice as much to compete effectively with the male counterparts in the same position.
In order to elevate women, first of all, as women we need to support one another, educate, encourage and empower one another.
Secondly, leadership policy amendments should be advocated for so as to ensure gender equality in all sectors of different economies
Lastly, more advocacy is needed to create awareness of women’s position within society.
