Secretary-General Appoints Gerda Verburg of Netherlands Coordinator of Scaling Up Nutrition Movement

United Nations-Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Gerda Verburg of the Netherlands as Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement.

Ms. Verburg succeeds the acting Coordinator, Tom Arnold, who has coordinated the Movement from August 2014.  Previously, David Nabarro, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Special Representative for Food Security and Nutrition, coordinated the Movement.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Nabarro’s and Mr. Arnold’s dedicated service in helping to establish the powerful driving force for nutrition which the Movement is today.

The new Coordinator will work with 56 national Governments that lead the SUN Movement, uniting with United Nations agencies, civil society, business and donors in a common mission to defeat malnutrition.  She previously served as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations Organizations for Food and Agriculture in Rome (Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme and International Fund for Agricultural Development) since 2011.  In 2014, she was appointed Chair of the Global Agenda Council for Food and Nutrition Security of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Between 2013 and 2015, Ms. Verburg was Chair of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS).  From 2007 to 2011, she served as Speaker in the Dutch House of Representatives on economics, energy and innovation, and as Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.  In 2008 she was elected Chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.

About SUN Movement

Scaling Up Nutrition, or SUN, is a unique Movement founded on the principle that all people have a right to food and good nutrition.  It unites people — from Governments, civil society, the United Nations, donors, businesses and researchers — in a collective effort to improve nutrition.

Within the SUN Movement, national leaders are prioritizing efforts to address malnutrition.  Countries are putting the right policies in place, collaborating with partners to implement plans with shared nutrition goals, and mobilizing resources to effectively scale up nutrition, with a core focus on empowering women.  With a shared understanding that many factors impact nutrition, each of us has a unique contribution to make.