To:  Mr.  Herman  Van  Rompuy,  President  of  the  European  Council  Mr.  Hailemariam  Desalegn,  Prime  Minister  of  Ethiopia  and  Chairperson  of  the  African  Union    Cc:  Mr.  José  Manuel  Barroso,  President  of  the  European  Commission  Mr.  Andris  Piebalgs,  European  Commissioner  for  Development  Dr.  Nkosazana  Clarice  Dlamini-­‐Zuma,  President  of  the  African  Union  Commission  

 Brussels,  6  March  2014  

 Subject:  Civil  society  calls  for  including  nutrition  in  the  EU-­‐Africa  Summit’s  agenda      Dear  President  Van  Rompuy,  dear  Prime  Minister  Desalegn,    Ahead   of   the   European   Union   (EU)   –   Africa   Summit   on   2-­‐3   April   2014,   the   undersigned   organisations   call   on   the  European  Union  and  the  African  Union  to  ensure  that  nutrition  will  be  a  high  priority  on  the  Summit’s  agenda.      Nutrition   remains   a   fundamental   challenge   to   development   and   poverty   eradication.   In   Sub-­‐Saharan   Africa,  undernutrition   is   the  underlying  cause  of  more   than  half  of  all  under-­‐5  deaths,   representing   the   first   cause  of   child  mortality   in  the  continent.  Additionally,  almost  60  million  African  children  are  stunted  and  therefore   likely  to  develop  irreversible   physical   and   mental   disabilities.1   Undernutrition   rates   are   even   more   alarming   in   fragile   and   conflict-­‐affected  States,  which  are  the  furthest  from  reaching  the  Millennium  Development  Goals  and  where  the  most  affected  mothers  and  children  often  go  unseen,  unheard  and  uncounted.      Failure  to  obtain  optimal  nutrition  negatively  prevents  individuals,  communities  and  countries  from  achieving  their  full  economic  potential   and   impacts   life   chances  of   future   generation   by   trapping   them   in   the   vicious   circle   of   poverty.  According   to  various  studies,   the  economic  cost  of  undernutrition   is  estimated  to  range   from  2  to  3  percent  of  Gross  Domestic  Product2  to  as  much  as  16  percent  in  most  affected  countries.3  Addressing  this  issue  is  therefore  a  moral  duty  and  an  economic  imperative.    Fully   conscious  of   the  burden  of  undernutrition,  African  governments  have   recently   shown   leadership   to  address   this  issue  through  important  financial  and  political  pledges.  In  August  2013,  the  African  Union  renewed  its  commitment  for  maternal  and  child  survival  of  which  good  nutrition  is  a  key  component,  as  recognised  in  the  African  Regional  Nutritional  Strategy  (2005-­‐2015).  In  parallel,  with  the  adoption  of  the  Communication  “Enhancing  Maternal  and  Child  Nutrition  in  External   Assistance”   and   related   Council   Conclusions,   the   EU   institutions   decided   on   two   objectives:   i)   to   support  partner  countries   in  reducing  by  7  million  the  number  of  children  that  are  stunted  by  2025;  and  ii)  to  contribute  to  reducing  childhood  wasting  to   less  than  5%  by  2025.  These  efforts  stem  from  a  global  momentum  that  was  reached  through   the   endorsement   of   six   global   targets   by   WHO   member   states   and   an   implementation   plan   to   improve  maternal,  infant  and  young  child  nutrition  by  2025.      With   less   than   two   years   to   achieve   the  Millennium   Development   Goals   and   while   negotiations   for   the   new   global  development  framework  are  ongoing,  the  EU-­‐Africa  Summit  comes  at  a  crucial  time.  EU  and  African  leaders  have  the  moral  obligation  to  make  nutrition  a  development  and  economic  priority  of  their  relations,  notably  by  advocating  for  its   inclusion  within   the   post-­‐2015   development   agenda   and   by   jointly  mobilising   the   budgetary   and   extra-­‐budgetary  resources  needed  to  achieve  international  commitments  in  this  field.      We   thus   believe   that   the   upcoming  meeting   of   European   and   African   Heads   of   State   and  Government   represent   an  important   opportunity   to   take   collective   action   on   fighting   undernutrition   and   concretely   to   advance   towards   good  nutrition,  health  and  inclusive  development  for  the  African  people.    We  look  forward  to  your  response  and  stand  ready  to  provide  any  further  information  you  may  require.      Yours  Sincerely,  Patrick  Bertrand  Executive  Director  of  Global  Health  Advocates,  on  behalf  of  17  organisations:  

 

                                                                                                                         1  Levels  &  Trends  in  Child  Malnutrition,  UNICEF-­‐WHO-­‐The  World  Bank,  2011,  available  here.    2  Repositioning  Nutrition  as  Central  to  Development:  A  Strategy  for  Large-­‐Scale  Action,  the  World  Bank,  2006. 3  The  Cost  of  Hunger  in  Ethiopia  –  The  social  and  economic  impact  of  child  undernutrition  in  Ethiopia,  2013,  available  here.