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 Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement in October 2012 following a letter of commitment from Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President. The country’s SUN Business Network (SBN) launched in March 2019, and currently has 32 members.
According to the Global Nutrition Report, Sri Lanka is on-course to achieve just one of its nutrition targets, in the number of infants exclusively breast-fed during the first five months of their lives (at 82%). That being said, the country has shown some progress in two other areas: the number of under-fives experiencing stunting (17.3%) and the amount of infants being born at a low weight (15.9%). In its other targets, however, Sri Lanka indicates little-to-no progress. Fifteen percent of under-fives are affected by wasting – almost double the average for the Asia region – while 17% are impacted by stunting. The number of women of reproductive age experiencing anaemia also remains high at 32.6%, and the amount of adults impacted by obesity or diabetes sits at 10% and 15% respectively.
SBN Sri Lanka is in the process of transitioning to a new governance structure with a more long-term sustainable model. This will see the formation of the Federation of Chambers and Industries and Commerce of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), which will be overseen by a seven-member Board – consisting of four private sector actors, a Representative from the Chambers, a Representative from WFP, and a Representative from the SUN Civil Society Network (CSO). With a Co-ordinator based at the FCCISL, the Board will meet every two months and oversee and instruct SBN Sri Lanka’s activities, along with oversight from WFP.
In Sri Lanka, the SBN’s overarching aim is to bring together, assess and advocate the private sector with regards to nutrition and nutrition-led initiatives – with a goal of reaching 60 members, comprising actors at both national and sub-national levels, in the next two years. In light of this expansion, SBN Sri Lanka has four focal points of activity:
Member state food system dialogues to support this are currently underway, with the first – “Identifying challenges to build sustainable food systems in Sri Lanka” – held on 16 June 2021.