To fight malnutrition: Councils urged to dedicate 1% of budget to nutrition-related activities.

The call was made yesterday in Yaounde by one of the Scaling Up Nutrition, SUN, Ambassadors, Nguele Jean Marie. This during a press conference organised by J&A Oben Foundation in partnership with UNICEF.
The press conference, on the topic: “Advocacy for the integration and prioritisation of nutrition specific activities in the annual investment plan of municipal councils in Cameroon”, had as objective to highlight the key role that municipal councils could play in the fight malnutrition through the allocation of one percent of their annual budgets to nutrition-specific activities.
In a press statement, the SUN Ambassador, Nguele Jean Marie, who is former Mayor of Nguelemendouka in the East Region, said nutrition problems are a scourge undermining societies. 
He said they include “over nutrition (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease), under-nutrition (overweight, stunted growth…) and micronutrient deficiencies or ‘hidden hunger’ (vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiencies).
He added that: “Underweight, stunted growth and hidden hunger mainly affect children aged 0 to 5, adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding women”.
Nguele disclosed that in the case of Cameroon, cases of malnutrition in children under five are mainly found in four regions.
“These are Far North, with 38.2% of cases of chronic acute malnutrition (CAM) and 42.2% of cases of vitamin A deficiency; North Region with 34.9% of CAM and 33.5% of cases of vitamin A deficiency; Adamawa, with 37.3% of CAM and 34.7% of cases of vitamin A deficiency. While 20% of adolescents, 10% of pregnant women and 11.5% of breastfeeding women were also malnourished, according to UNICEF in 2019,” he said.
“With the prevailing insecurity in the North West and South West regions, these nutritional problems are on the increase in these areas,” he regretted.
The SUN Ambassador then indicated that these statistics are clear indication that the range of the population most affected are those on whom the country’s development depends.
“Given these alarming figures, strong and effective actions must be taken to prevent the loss of human capital,” he noted.
“This would be an obstacle to the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2030, as envisaged he the Cameroonian government. Now that decentralisation is in place, it would be important for communities, through their local elected representatives (mayors and municipal councilors), to get involved so that the results of strategies to combat malnutrition in communities, as implemented by the government with the support of its partners, are optimal,” he added.
Nguele then indicated that, “this would be possible if each of our councils dedicate one percent of their budgets to nutrition-related activities”.
Speaking earlier in a welcome address, the President and Co-Founder of J&A Oben Foundation, Prof Julius Oben, said the Foundation is focusing on aspects to combat malnutrition and is working with other organisations such as UNICEF to achieve this goal.
J&A Oben Foundation, it should be noted, is a non-profit organisation that promotes good nutrition and wellbeing. 
The Foundation provides high-quality evidence-based technical assistance to national and regional organisations and institutions working in the field of agriculture, nutrition and social welfare.