Zero Hunger Phase 3 - Achieving Regional Integration: The key to success for the fight against hunger in West Africa

Action Against Hunger's latest series of publications - Zero Hunger - seeks to understand why and how countries like Brazil and Malawi have managed to reduce undernutrition, while others have not. By pulling together evidence from contexts which have had relative success in bringing down undernutrition rates, the series introduces six key success factors which have been instrumental in the fight against hunger worldwide:

• Put nutrition at the top of the political agenda 
• Ensure the participation of civil society in the development of sustainable policies to improve ownership and impact among affected communities 
• Address the multiple causes of undernutrition through a wide range of sectors, including health, agriculture, water and sanitation, and education to enhance policy coherence and coordination 
• Combine both short and long-term approaches to address both the immediate and underlying causes of undernutrition 
• Coordinate activities across different institutions 
• Provide long-term financial resources to guarantee policy effectiveness Nutrition must be at the forefront of all development and poverty reduction policies. 

Phase 3 links the first two phases and highlights the relevance and potential of regional institutions and mechanisms to reduce hunger and malnutrition in West Africa. Only through synergies and collaboration, will the reduction of hunger and undernutrition be achieved more effectively across the region. Furthermore, by working together at the regional level, national governments and civil society will be better placed to tackle regional issues such as high food prices.


Action Again Hunger - June 2011