Episode 47: Dr Joanne Raisin. SUN-RISE or SUN-SET? Where next for the SUN Movement?
The Politics of Ending Malnutrition - Challenging Conversations with Decision MakersShow Notes
In the final episode of the series reflecting on the future of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, N4D Directors Chris Leather and Jeremy Shoham are talking to Dr Joanne Raisin, Director of the SUN Movement Secretariat.
This conversation explores what the SUN Movement has achieved since its inception, the key lessons from its third phase and the ambitions of the newly launched SUN 4.0 Strategy (2025–2030). The discussion focuses on how SUN can strengthen country-led action, adapt to a rapidly changing global financing environment and better support fragile and conflict-affected states.
What does the podcast cover? 1. What is the SUN Movement and why does it matter? SUN as a country-led, multi-stakeholder movement bringing together governments, civil society, donors, UN agencies, and the private sector The unique value of SUN as a neutral convening platform that supports coordination under country leadership Reflections on SUN’s achievements to date, including elevating nutrition globally and strengthening multi-sectoral collaboration Key limitations identified in SUN 3.0, including fragmentation, accountability gaps, and uneven support to fragile states 2. What’s in the SUN 4.0 Strategy (2025–2030)? SUN 4.0 as a strategic refresh, building on what has worked while adapting to new global realities Greater attention to: Fragility, conflict and climate vulnerability Shifting malnutrition patterns, including overweight and obesity Future-proofing nutrition outcomes in a constrained financing environment Looking beyond 2030 Is SUN still needed after 2030? The future of SUN as a platform shaped by country and regional demand The importance of localisation, shared ownership and amplifying country voices in global and regional decision-making
Key takeaways The success of SUN 4.0 will depend less on strategy and more on how the Movement works in practice Stronger accountability, better coordination and clearer alignment with country-led priorities are essential Fragile and conflict-affected states must be at the centre of future SUN support Nutrition integration and sustainable financing require the nutrition community to engage more effectively with other sectors on their own terms
Please join the debate! Credits: Recorded edited and published by: N4D & Nutriat.co Theme tune: Saraweto, used with kind permission of Just East of Jazz © N4D Group 2026 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Politics of Ending Malnutrition - Challenging Conversations with Decision Makers
As international aid falls sharply, national governments, donors and the nutrition community as a whole face tough choices.
In this episode, the N4D Directors Carmel, Chris and Jeremy, reflect on lessons from supporting country partners in Ethiopia, Niger and Yemen. They discuss why long-term engagement, trust, an understanding of political and institutional contexts, and flexible, demand-driven support matter—particularly in fragile and conflict-affected countries.
N4D is in conversation for a second time (check out previous short podcast at N4G Summit) with Madam Manty Tarawalli, Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President, discussing Sierra Leone's nutrition progress since joining the SUN Movement in 2012. An acknowledged leader in politics and development, the Honourable Minister is spearheading country-led initiatives to tackle malnutrition: “When you demonstrate leadership as a country by saying to partners, this is the approach you want to take and these are the reasons & expected outcomes you foresee, you get partners following that drive. Without that leadership you get confusion and people doing whatever they want to do,” she affirms.
Like many Latin American countries, El Salvador’s malnutrition problems are increasingly more likely to be Type 2 diabetes amongst eight year-olds than stunting amongst children under 5. Elisa Gamero, Chief of Health and Nutrition Projects in the Office of the First Lady, paints a picture of how the country is tackling high rates of both undernutrition and child overweight/obesity and increased consumption of ultra processed foods. In recent years, El Salvador has made big strides in putting nutrition high in the political agenda, including new laws promoting a healthy start in life, launch of a youth platform, work with the private sector, a national nutrition strategy and more aligned action by UN and other international partners. A multisectoral approach and resource mobilisation, both domestic and international, lie at the heart of these initiatives. “It was not easy at first… when we first convened these actors, they look at each other [around] this table and say ‘what do I have to do with nutrition? This is a health perspective.’ But when we started developing the actions and they feel that they could connect with all the actions that surround the reduction of malnutrition in El Salvador, they're fully and strongly committed.” SUN’s Latin America regional learning hub and technical support are other features that El Salvador counts as gifts from the SUN Movement - “it’s so important that we learn from countries with a similar political approach and context”.
“I think there is a huge [opportunity] to take the lessons learned from Yemen and to try to bring them into the other countries where I see the SUN [Movement] working as a global actor… We need the voices of [Humanitarian, Development, Peace] HDP Nexus coordination everywhere to explain what it is and to show what it is… that could be the example of Yemen… a model to other countries.” Marcela Masiarik, Head of Cooperation with Yemen at the German Embassy in Amman (2021-2025)