African leaders, experts to meet over African food security and nutrition

African leaders and agricultural experts will be meeting on the side-lines of the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations later this month, to evaluate the continent's progress in improving nutrition.

This was revealed last week by Dr. Nalishebo Meebelo, Senior Coordinator of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at the African Union Commission.

While in Nairobi for the launch of the AU technical networks for agriculture, Nalishebo said that the high-level meeting will involve the presentation and review of the annual progress report which should show how Africa is performing.

"We want to see better nutrition in Africa so we will have a look at how we have done in the past year," Nalishebo said.

What is New Alliance?

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is an establishment launched by the African Union in 2012 to fast-track the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

The CAADP is a continental framework for agriculture under which African Heads of State agreed in 2003 to among other goals, allocate at least 10% of their national budgets to agriculture and achieve at least 6% annual growth rate of the same sector.

Here, the New Alliance is tasked with mobilising efforts from member countries, including the private sector and development partners to promote food security and help lift 50 million people out of poverty in Africa by 2022 among other roles.

More numbers, more tasks

Every year, according to Dr Nalishebo, the New Alliance meets once under what they call the leadership council.

This, she says, involves 30 members including Heads of State and Government of New Alliance and GrowAfrica Participating Countries, three CEOs of domestic African companies, three CEOs of international companies including one of Global Bank, three representatives of African Farmer Organisations, three Civil Society Organisations and Development Partners.

On the line-up of private sector participants will be Sani Dangote from Nigeria, Vimal Sha of BIDCO Kenya and Monica Musonda of Java Foods Zambia.

Work in progress

Between 2014 and 2015, according to the secretariat's annual progress report of 2015, different African countries had received funds to implement various initiatives with disbursement of $1.2 billion then to Ethiopia.

G7 countries had also made contributions to the continent with the United States of America disbursing about $1.3bn.

The leadership council will be reviewing reports on policy reforms in member states, private sector investment, with a link to small holder farmers including women and youth and contribution to supporting policy and institutional reform processes among other issues.

Uganda is yet to join the Alliance as it grows out across the continent and is already in 10 countries.