Rwanda’s ever first Nutrition Summit, held last week under the theme “Investing in nutrition as a foundation for sustainable development,” has been described as a big step in the fight against malnutrition.

The summit, which was attended by national and international experts, practitioners and researchers, aimed at reviewing and further developing recommendations for more effective actions in all sections of government to ensure food security and improved nutrition.

Guest of honor at the summit was Ida Odinga, the wife of Kenya’s Prime Minister, who is a well-known regional nutritional advocate and champion. She congratulated the Rwandan government for identifying nutrition as a prime issue in the country’s development, pointing out that many African nations have not paid attention to it.

“Rwanda is among the countries with a sustainable program to deliver Vitamin A proteins to children aged between 6-29 months, twice in a year to every child,” she said.

She also called upon officials to demonstrate good leadership, most especially by encouraging the public to support nutrition-related activities, given that it is at the core of development. “Nutrition affects education, health, planning and environment, among other areas of development,” Ida Odinga pointed out.

Health Minister Dr. Richard Sezibera, for his part, agreed that nutrition is a vital issue and should be a national concern because it cannot be taken care of by just one sector; the health sector has to collaborate with others to effectively manage nutritional needs.

“We shall continue to put nutrition at the top of the government agenda and this first nutrition summit will not be that last,” Sezibera said.

The summit comes after the launch of the Rwandan National Nutrition Policy two years ago, which provided a legal framework for effective nutrition guidance of stakeholders from all sectors.

According to the recently released Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis and Nutrition Survey, malnutrition doesn’t affect children only – even though they are particularly affected, with 52% of children stunting as a result of malnutrition. Yet women too are under threat, with 7% of women of reproductive age (between 15 and 49 years) being malnourished. Therefore, investing in nutrition means investing in human resources, which will promote the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the future.

There is reason to be hopeful, though: according to the above-mentioned Food Security survey, whereas in 2006 7% of the households were considered as having a poor food consumption score (FCS) and 28% had a borderline FCS, this a fallen to 4% and 17% respectively in 2009.

That, however, does not mean that the battle is won. At the end of the summit, participants declared nutrition a right for all and an aspect associated with the MDGs. It has risen to a higher place on the national agenda, resulting in the Emergency Plan to Eliminate Malnutrition nationwide.

The health, agricultural, educational sectors and the local government are recognized as essential allies in the improvement of food security and nutrition, and more collaboration will be needed on areas such as developing models of school gardens and distribution of cows (through the One Cow per Family program). Nutrition Programs at district level will be an essential plan into achieving these goals.

Moreover, new academic programs need to be established to support nutrition policy. Infant and young child feeding recommendations should be strengthened and integrated into child and mother health programs. The technical work group on nutrition should be utilized to assure that the most up-to-date research and information is available.

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