Experts call for increasing food security, nutrition budget

Experts have called on the transitional unity government to increase the annual budgetary allocation to food and nutrition sector.

Nhlanhla Ndovu, the Executive Director of Center for Economic Governance and Accountability in Africa, said the budget should be increased because food security, nutrition and water, sanitation and health services (WASH) needs are increasing on daily basis following the influx of returnees and refugees from Sudan.

He was speaking on Wednesday during the closing of a two-day symposium on budget process in Juba.

In the 2021/2022 fiscal year budget, the ministry of agriculture and food security was allocated 8.3 billion SSP with actual expenditure of 1.48 billion SSP, while the budget for the Drug and Food Control Authority under the ministry of health received 22 million SSP with actual expenditure of 14.47 million SSP.

  “If the community needs are not reflected in the budget then it means we need to re-strategize, identify real issues and put our money on all those issues so that something can be done to address them,” he said.

Samuel Chor Alier, the national coordinator for Child Right Civil Society Coalition, said the government is on the right track in terms of budgeting, adding that public participation is needed to hold the government accountable.

 “When the government is transparent to the people, people are able to hold the government accountable and in the end you will know that you have democracy and you are putting your country in the map of the world,” Alier said.

Joyce Akandu Ayume, consortium manager for Right2Grow under Save the Children, said there is need to increase budgetary allocation for nutrition in the 2023/24 fiscal year budget.

“The nutrition situation in this country is deteriorating, if you compare from 2021-2023, it is not really looking good unless something is done, things are not going in the right track and budget is one of them,”Ayume said.

The 2023/24 draft budget before parliament totals to a tune of 2.1 trillion SSP.