Today is an important day for CUAMM’s commitment to improve nutrition, for we have just joined Generation Nutrition, a global civil society campaign that encourages governments to take action to end child mortality caused by malnutrition. We are now one of about eighty partners who support this campaign in twelve countries and at the European level.

We are very pleased for this accomplishment, though it is only the start of the undertaking. Becoming part of this network is a recognition of our important recent work, and it is a pledge to continue our longstanding commitment with civil society to support those who most need it.

Through this campaign, Doctors with Africa CUAMM will spread the message that investing in nutrition means investing in the physical and mental well-being of a country’s population, with special attention to the first thousand days of life from conception. An adequate nutrition from the moment of conception to the second year of life (the first thousand days) lets the body and brain develop correctly, which lowers the incidence of disease. We can do a lot to promote adequate nutrition with only a small effort.

Promoting breastfeeding, teaching mothers how to eat a healthy and varied diet, spreading good practices for hygiene, and encouraging farmers to produce varied and nutritious foods are just some of the initiatives that can change the future of a newborn and the life of a mother. If we are able to promote these practices at a national level and reach entire populations and countries, we can make a real difference to the communities and rewrite the future of these countries.

The purpose of being part of a nutrition campaign is teamwork. Only through a team effort on multiple fronts – starting with health, education, and agriculture – can we tackle the problem on a large scale.

To learn more about our work against malnutrition visit the following links:

ANGOLA

• Tackling Child Nutrition with Unicef in Angola

MOZAMBIQUE

• Operational Reserach in Mozambique: Vitamin A-based Nutrition

TANZANIA

• Cuamm and TFNC Signed Memorandum to Fight Malnutrition