Never before has so much attention been paid to nutrition in
development dialogues and planning. In the early design of the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
(CAADP), the important role nutrition plays in achieving development
goals was recognized, but little thought was given to how to integrate
nutrition into agriculture and development investment plans. However,
several key international events and commitments following the 2007–
2008 food price crisis raised awareness of the need to improve nutrition
in order to achieve international, regional, and national development
and growth targets. This awareness is articulated in the Sustainable
Development Goals and echoed in various strategic African Union
policies, strategies, and plans, including the African Union (AU) Agenda
2063, the AU 2014–2017 Strategic Plan, and the three Malabo Declarations
(2014) relating to nutrition. Other African Union Commission (AUC)
initiatives support this commitment, including the CAADP Nutrition
Initiative that commenced in 2011, and the African Regional Nutrition
Strategy 2015–2025 (ARNS 2015–2025). In addition, 37 African countries
are involved in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement.
While many first generation CAAPD programs included food
security and nutrition (FSN) programs and activities, nutrition was not
well integrated, and monitoring and evaluation systems for assessing the
impact of these interventions on nutrition of vulnerable groups were not
always included. Some nutrition indicators have now been incorporated in
the CAADP Results Framework and can be monitored as part of CAADP
implementation progress; CAADP indicators can also complement
monitoring that countries are conducting in relation to SUN movement
activities. Some countries have already developed common results
frameworks for this purpose.
Focusing the 2015 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) on
nutrition will contribute to a broader understanding of the critical role of
nutrition in achieving international, continental, and national economic
growth targets through agriculture, food security, and nutrition. This
report presents information and analysis in support of evidence-based
policy making that should inform the second generation of CAADP
national investment plans now being developed. This is an important
moment for shaping the region’s future and ensuring that the much-needed
agriculture-led growth and development agenda can simultaneously
deliver on improving nutrition, saving lives, improving productivity and
health, and curbing nutrition-related diseases and the associated public
health expenditures. These investment plans should address not only
the usual elements of undernutrition but also widespread micronutrient
deficiencies (termed “hidden hunger”) and the growing problem of
overweight and obesity that is associated with economic growth.