PM picked for nutrition drive

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon has appointed 27 global leaders, including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, to promote ‘the strength and security of nations’ in improving maternal and child nutrition.

Quoting Ban, a UN press statement stated that these personalities, drawn from countries, organisations and the private sector, will serve as strategic guides to the global movement known as ‘Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)’, to boost nutrition among children.

‘Never before have so many leaders, from so many countries and fields, agreed to work together to improve nutrition. The SUN movement gives all of us, including the UN, an opportunity to support countries in their efforts to end hunger and malnutrition,’ the report quoted Ban.

Members of the campaign include Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique; Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania; Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Nadine Heredia, First Lady of Peru; Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD, Marie Pierre Allié, President, Médecins Sans Frontieres (France); and Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE US.

Appointees from the development agencies include Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, Canada; Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development Cooperation, European Commission; Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing, France; and Rajiv Shah, Administrator, US Agency for International Development. The Lead Group plays role for ensuring the countries at the heart of the movement are supported as they work to create tangible and sustainable improvements in nutrition.

Apart from providing strategic oversight, the group will also help mobilise support and strengthen both coordination and accountability within the movement,” read the statement.