Africa Day celebrates the successes of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU now the AU) and the progress Africa has made since the inception of the AU on May 25, 1963, while also reflecting on common challenges that the continent continues to face. In 2022, the AU launched the Africa Year of Nutrition to acknowledge the importance of investing in nutrition at global and continental levels, especially as COVID-19 has increased the vulnerability of food and health systems across the continent.

This Africa Day, USAID Advancing Nutrition is honoring the theme of “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent.” The project works to support country-led scale-up of effective, integrated, and sustainable multi-sectoral nutrition programs, interventions, and food and health systems across eight African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Chiefs of Party from Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Tanzania shared their thoughts on why advancing nutrition in Africa is important. As Hadiza Joy Marcus, Nigeria Chief of Party puts it, “Improving the health and diet status of our most vulnerable populations is very important in ensuring a resilient society.”