SUN MOVEMENT POOLED FUND PROJECT WINDOW I ENDS WITH BIG ACHIEVEMENTS
In July 2018, CS-SUNN signed an 18-months grant with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), to implement the SUN Movement Pooled Fund, a last resort catalytic source of grant funding to support SUN Civil Society Alliance activities in Kwara, Oyo, Imo, Rivers and Gombe states including the FCT. The project based on the three themes outlined in the SUN Movement Pooled Fund Result framework recorded the following achievements in eighteen months:
1. Financial Resourcing: Project focal states now have state specific costed multi-sectoral strategic plans of action for food and nutrition. Nutrition Ministries, Departments and Agencies have budget lines for nutrition in the 2020 budgets. Also, three state governments (Oyo, Gombe and Kwara) out of six have released counterpart funding for the implementation of the World Bank funded Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN).
2) Smart Planning and Legislation: Project focal states have domesticated the National Policy for Food and Nutrition. The domesticated policies show relevant priorities, goals, objectives, interventions and programmes for nutrition based on a sound nutrition situation analysis and contributions from CS-SUNN.
3) Effective Implementation and Accountability: CS-SUNN at the National and State levels is on track in implementing commitments and is making a demonstratable contribution to reducing malnutrition in Nigeria. The alliance’s functionality score increased from four at baseline to six (which is the maximum score).
CS-SUNN recorded these successes through evidence-based advocacies to key policy makers, legislators and relevant stakeholders in the Nigerian nutrition space. Also, roundtable consultations with grassroot Community Based Organizations, capacity building for CSOs on budget advocacy and quarterly nutrition budget tracking were conducted. CS-SUNN supported Kwara and Imo states to domesticate the National Policy on Food and Nutrition and supported the focal states committees on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) into adopt the appraisal tool. The appraisal tool is used to assess the extent to which the implementation of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions are in line with the National Multisectoral Plan of Action for Nutrition.
It is the alliance’s hope that the gains of the SUN Pooled Fund project are sustained as the project enabled CS-SUNN to improve its organizational and governance capacity both at the National and State levels.