The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Aliko Dangote Foundation and Big Win Philanthropy have renewed their commitment to end child stunting and other forms of malnutrition through the Banking on Nutrition Partnership.

In a high-level panel discussion convened by the AfDB, representatives of each institution shared lessons, experiences, and achievements of the Banking on Nutrition Partnership over the past five years.

Particularly, discussions also centered on its implementation within the African Development Bank and its Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan. It also included measures to encourage other organizations and development banks to integrate into their portfolios.

“The Bank is relentless in pursuing bold targets to unlock Africa’s human and economic potential. It is our aim to inspire other actors to recognize nutrition as central to that agenda,” indicated Dr. Beth Dunford, Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank in her opening remarks.

“We need urgent action from all sectors to rise and renew commitment towards nutrition to help speed up the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate achievement of nutrition targets.”

Kesete Admasu, CEO of Big Win Philanthropy, Zouera Youssoufou, CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Joel Spicer, CEO of Nutrition International and Martin Fregene and Chanda Osward, directors from the African Development Bank gave other recommendations during the programme.

Moreover, each speaker made reaffirmations of their commitment to the partnership and their efforts to help countries end child stunting.

Malnutrition continues to undermine the human capital development capacities of countries in Africa. Thus, robbing generations of their full physical and cognitive potential, hugely impacting health outcomes and economic development. As such, the Banking on Nutrition Partnership aims to generate long term economic growth for Africa by investing in “Grey Matter Infrastructure.”

Statistics reveal that in 2020, 61.4 million African children were registered as stunted, with Africa being the only region where the number of stunted children has risen and 40 per cent of all stunted children in the world live on the African continent.

The Banking on Nutrition Partnership is a key example of African leadership in health and nutrition. “When we have a practical result driven success story based on partnership, it is important to showcase it”, asserted Zouera Youssoufou.

“The value of the Partnership is for all of us to come together and look at how to incorporate nutrition more deliberately as part of a comprehensive protective wall of immunity around people from the inside and out,” Joel Spicer suggested.

The Partnership has been effective considering its numerous initiatives and programs such as support for Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration- a commitment to end stunting in children under two by 2030. The African Development Bank approved $48 million in funding for the Government of Ethiopia’s Multi-Sectoral Approach for Stunting Reduction Project (MASReP).

The Banking on Nutrition Partnership has produced a number of success stories including the integration of nutrition into 18 per cent of African Development Bank projects, with 21 per cent of project interventions prioritizing focus on women and children.

The AfDB also surpassed its 2025 targets of 15 per cent and 10 per cent nutrition-smart investments in the (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) WASH and social protection sectors respectively.

Going forward, the Banking on Nutrition Partnership will prioritize 10 countries using the African Development Bank’s Grey Matter Infrastructure Investment Index. These countries include Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan, Madagascar, Kenya, Burundi, Mali, and Burkina Faso.