Introduction
The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement is a global, multistakeholder initiative that brings together governments, civil society, businesses and donors to confront the persistent problem of malnutrition in all its forms. Strategy3.0 (20212025) builds on the lessons of the first two strategies and provides a renewed roadmap for accelerating progress toward the World Health Assembly target of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
This page outlines the core vision, strategic objectives, priority actions and the monitoring framework that define SUN Strategy3.0.
Vision & Guiding Principles
The vision of Strategy3.0 is A world where every person, especially the most vulnerable, has the nutrition they need to thrive. It rests on three guiding principles:
- Peoplecentered: Nutrition outcomes are measured on the ground, not just in policy documents.
- Inclusive partnership: All voicesincluding women, youth, indigenous peoples and smallscale producersare essential to design and implement solutions.
- Evidenceinformed action: Decisions are based on highquality data, implementation research, and realtime learning.
Strategic Objectives
Strategy3.0 articulates four interrelated objectives that together drive the scaling up of nutrition interventions.
1. Strengthen National Nutrition Governance
Empower governments to lead coordinated, multisectoral responses that align with national development plans.
2. Accelerate Impactful Nutrition Interventions
Scale evidencebased, highimpact actions across the food system, health services, and social protection.
3. Mobilize Sustainable Financing
Increase domestic and external resources, and promote innovative financing mechanisms that ensure longterm investment.
4. Foster a Learning and Accountability Culture
Adopt robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems that feed back into policy and program improvement.
Priority Action Areas
To achieve the objectives, SUN Strategy3.0 identifies six concrete action areas.
- Policy Alignment & Coordination
Support the development of national nutrition plans that are fully integrated with agriculture, education, social protection and climate policies.
- NutritionSensitive Agriculture
Promote diversified, climatesmart food production and improve market access for nutrientrich foods.
- Healthy Food Environments
Implement frontofpack labeling, fiscal policies on sugary drinks, and restrictions on marketing unhealthy foods to children.
- Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN)
Scale up exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding, and micronutrient supplementation.
- Social Protection & Safety Nets
Integrate nutrition goals into cash transfer programmes, school feeding and public works.
- Data, Evidence, and Learning
Strengthen nutrition surveillance, conduct implementation research, and disseminate best practices through the SUN Learning Hub.
Key Partnerships & Roles
The SUN Movements strength lies in its diversified partnership model. The table below summarizes the main actors and their responsibilities under Strategy3.0.
| Partner Group | Core Role |
|---|---|
| Governments | Lead multisectoral coordination, allocate budgets, enact supportive legislation. |
| Civil Society & NGOs | Advocate for accountability, implement communitylevel programmes, monitor progress. |
| Donors & Development Agencies | Provide catalytic financing, support capacity building, align aid with national plans. |
| Private Sector | Improve food composition, adopt responsible marketing, invest in supplychain innovations. |
| Academia & Research Institutions | Generate evidence, evaluate interventions, translate research into policy recommendations. |
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Framework
Strategy3.0 adopts a resultsbased management approach with three layers of indicators:
- Outcome Indicators national prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight, micronutrient deficiencies.
- Process Indicators implementation of nutritionsensitive policies, coverage of MIYCN services.
- Impact Indicators changes in child growth trajectories, reduction in dietrelated noncommunicable diseases.
Data are collected annually through the SUN Global Reporting System and are visualized on the openaccess SUN Monitoring Dashboard. Countries are encouraged to conduct midterm reviews (2023) and final evaluations (2025) to inform the next strategic cycle.
Success Stories (20212023)
Early implementation of Strategy3.0 has already generated notable results.
- Ethiopia: Integrated nutrition into the national agricultural strategy, leading to a 12% increase in consumption of indigenous fruits and vegetables.
- Philippines: Adopted mandatory frontofpack warning labels on highsugar beverages, contributing to a 9% decline in sugary drink sales.
- Kenya: Scaled a cashplusnutrition programme that reduced stunting among children under five by 5% within two years.
How to Get Involved
Whether you are a policy maker, practitioner, researcher or privatesector representative, you can contribute to the SUN agenda.
- Join your national SUN Platform and participate in the annual review.
- Share data and lessons learned through the SUN Learning Hub.
- Codesign or fund nutritionsensitive projects that align with the six priority actions.
- Advocate for increased domestic financing and transparent budgeting for nutrition.
Looking Ahead to Strategy4.0
While Strategy3.0 targets 2025, its legacy will shape the next strategic phase. Key areas for further attention include:
- Integrating digital technologies for realtime nutrition surveillance.
- Deepening climatenutrition linkages and resilience planning.
- Scaling up nutritionfocused entrepreneurship and marketbased solutions.
Stakeholder input gathered through the 2024 Global Consultation will directly inform the emerging Strategy4.0, ensuring continuity and innovation.
References & Resources
- Scaling Up Nutrition Movement. SUN Strategy 3.0 (20212025). SUN website, 2021. https://sun.org/strategy3
- World Health Organization. Global Nutrition Targets 2025. WHO, 2022.
- FAO, IFAD, WHO, UNICEF. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023.
- SUN Learning Hub case studies and implementation guides. https://sun.org/learning
