BY LEULSEGED WORKU
Improved nutrition and healthy diet have tremendous potential in terms of supporting healthy growth and development, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and creating healthy citizens which in turn contributing significantly to sustainable economic growth by accelerating productivity.
Owing to this, investing in food systems and improving diets at every stage of a child’s life is a priority matter for countries to ensure the proper growth and development of their citizens, create healthy citizens; thereby accelerate their economic development.
With this intention, the government of Ethiopia is undertaking various activities to make quality and safe food accessible to the citizens by solving food and nutrition problems in a sustainable way. As part of this effort, it is working aggressively through designing various plans and mechanisms, focusing on, especially, in food insecure areas.
The Seqota Declaration is one of the areas where the government is working aggressively to eradicating the underlying causes of chronic undernutrition; and ending stunting among children under two years by 2030. The Declaration, which is a multi-year plan is currently being implemented through a multi-sectoral program involving nine different sector ministries.
As studies indicate, Sekota Declaration has a 15-year roadmap and is divided into three phases.
Recently, a forum that evaluates the 2021/22 budget year plan implementation and expansion impact of Seqota Declaration as well as discusses the next direction was held in Seqota Town of Amhara State in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, senior federal and state government officials, and pertinent stakeholders.
According to the impact assessment report presented during the meeting, the effort has registered encouraging outcome in terms of improving the nutrition system of the country and reducing stunting.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke said that even though we are in challenging moments, the efforts we exerted to improve the nutritional system and end up stunting, we have witnessed encouraging outcome.
Demeke, who is also the Patron of the Seqota Declaration, added that in the past few years, it has been possible to implement programs that can ensure food security and nutritional system; and bring about basic economic reforms.
Especially, by implementing the Seqota Declaration, which has a 15-year road map and divided into three phases, tremendous coordinated efforts are carried out to benefit the community and practically and sustainably.
“To fully and successfully implement the Declaration, an integrated operating system has been established among concerned key federal institutions. In turn, the system has laid a strong foundation to achieve meaningful results. It was enabled to witness promising achievements in reducing stunting,” he remarked.
He also confirmed government’s commitment and determination to realize similar national plans and goals saying: “the government will give priority to the plans set by national programs, to ensure lasting peace in all areas, and implement them committedly to achieving the desired goals.”
He also stressed that directly or indirectly, cultural values have a significant role in creating awareness among the mass, arresting food insecurity and the challenges of stunning. For instance, yearly festivals like Shaday, Ashendaye and Solel, can be used as an instrument to mobilize the mass, eliminate hunger, to ensure the peace and development of the country as well as ensuring food security.
As it was stressed by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke, integrating cultural values have a key role to mobilize the society. As a land of varied indigenous cultural values and practices, Ethiopians have century old experiences of getting together, sharing experiences and joining hands in overcoming challenges. In this regard, the annual festivals (Shaday, Ashendaye and Solel) can be used as voices to create awareness among the society.
Health Minister Dr. Lia Tadesse on her part said that addressing the challenges of nutritional food, especially for children, has multifaceted benefits with regard to supporting them to have proper growth and cognitive development, physical appearance, prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases and maintaining good health. Further, as to her, improving nutrition is crucial to enhance children’s ability so as to achieve education and learning outcomes.
Therefore, if a nutritional system-based integrated program is implemented in more coordinated manner than before by involving all parties, especially the community, in a way that can change the lives of families at the district level, it will be possible to secure the children, who will be the future of the country, from the problem of food scarcity, the Minister remarked.
In earlier times, the program had been implemented in 40 districts in two states. And at present, by expanding and furthering the coverage in all states, it is being implemented in a total of 240 districts, it was learnt.
It was in July 2015, the Government of Ethiopia announced the multi-year plan, the Seqota Declaration, to end stunting in Ethiopia. The Seqota Declaration commits to eradicating the underlying causes of chronic undernutrition and ending stunting among children under two years by 2030.
The Seqota Declaration has been endorsed and embedded into the National Growth and Transformation Plan, making it among Ethiopia’s highest level commitments.
The Seqota Declaration builds on the “Cost of Hunger” study commissioned by the government in 2013, which showed that the annual costs associated with child undernutrition in Ethiopia are equivalent to 16.5 percent of its GDP. Eliminating stunting in Ethiopia is therefore a crucial underpinning to the country’s growth and transformation agenda, studies indicate.
As it is indicated by both the Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister, addressing food related issue is one of the priority areas of the government and effective results are witnessed. This is especially true for children who are victims of stunting. While ensuring the effective implementation of Seqota Declaration, working to realize the peace and stability of the nation is given special attention.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022
