The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level. Read More
The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level. At a global level, the SBN acts as a focal point for engaging multinational businesses in nutrition activities such as making workplace nutrition commitments.Read More
The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level.Read More
Emerging networks are in SUN Countries where the government has made a commitment to ending malnutrition through a multi-stakeholder approach and private sector companies have begun to mobilise their support for a multistakeholder, multisectoral approach to improving nutrition. Read More
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The Republic of Malawi joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in March 2011 following a letter of commitment from the Permanent Secretary offering a letter of commitment. Four years later, in 2015, private sector companies began working with the government to fight malnutrition – supporting the formation of the SUN Business Network (SBN) Malawi, which officially launched in February 2019 and currently has 182 members.
According to the Global Nutrition Report, Malawi is currently on-course to meet two of its nutrition targets, namely; the number of under-fives experiencing wasting and the rate of under-fives who are overweight. They also demonstrate making some progress in two other targets: decreasing the number of infants born with a low birth weight, and the number of under-fives experiencing stunting. However, despite a small improvement, 37% of children under the age of five in Malawi are still stunted; which is a third higher than the average in the African region overall. In other targets, the country shows no progress. A high number of women of reproductive age (34%) are afflicted by anaemia, and only 59% of infants are exclusively breast-fed during their first five months of life. Diabetes continues to affect around 12% of adults, and obesity rates in the country remain relatively high (albeit lower than the African average).
SBN Malawi is coordinated by their Chairperson in collaboration with the Malawian Government’s SUN Convener, through the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS (DNHA). The SBN is convened by the World Food Programme (WFP).
At national level, SBN Malawi is led by a National Executive Committee. This is composed of: a Chairperson; Vice Chairperson; Secretary; Regional Focal Person in the North, South, and Central regions of the country; six Regional Committee members (two from each region); SBN Coordinator based at WFP; Representative from the Ministry of Industry; and Representative from the DNHA.
At a regional level, each region (Southern, Northern, and Central) is led by a Regional Committee composed of a Chairperson (the Regional Focal Person), Vice Chairperson, and Secretary.
The Malawi SBN Network’s vision is to build the best business models for scaling up nutrition in Malawi, and developing new programmes and products to support a well-nourished population for enhanced social and economic development. In its 2019-2023 strategy document it outlines four key areas of focus:
to develop a strong membership base and network platform among members.
to increase scope for business opportunities
to contribute to improving the nutrition regulatory environment
to increase knowledge of, and demand for, nutritious products.