Nutrition on the Global Agenda

As world leaders gather together again in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, it is time we call upon them to make concrete, measurable commitments to tackle chronic malnutrition.

While the Scaling Up Nutrition movement and efforts such as the G-8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition have marshaled much-needed political will to address the need to improve nutrition, malnutrition is still widely overlooked on the global development agenda and remains a serious impediment toward achieving many of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that improving nutrition can significantly reduce the global burden of disease and greatly contribute to countries’ economic growth, only a handful of governments have committed to concrete targets to reduce malnutrition. In addition, very little funding is directed toward nutrition–donors spend less than half of one percent of aid on programs that directly improve nutrition despite their critical importance toward accelerating progress on global health and poverty alleviation.

The cost of continued underinvestment is continued suffering– millions of children will die as a result of malnutrition this year. Rates of chronic malnutrition in children remain unacceptably high; in Africa for example, rates of child stunting (a measure of chronic malnutrition) have stagnated over the past two decades at a level of 40%. The results are devastating – malnutrition leads to irreversibly stunted development and shorter, less productive lives. Less productive lives mean no escape from poverty.

TAKE ACTION

With this in mind, we are joining forces with the ONE campaign to call upon world leaders to make measurable commitments to reduce chronic malnutrition by 2016 and help 25 million children reach their full potential. The 2016 target is an important benchmark towards the 2025 WHO target of reducing stunting by 40%.

By joining the ONE campaign’s petition, you can help turn up the heat on global leaders and ask them to put nutrition on their agenda.

 

 

Dear World Leaders, Please make measurable commitments to reduce chronic malnutrition for 25 million kids by 2016 so they can reach their full potential.   Name * Email * Street Address (Opt. Exclude City, State) Zip/Postal * Country * Afghanistan ≈land Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Country of Sint Maarten Croatia Cuba CuraÁao Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint BarthÈlemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Samoa San Marino S„o TomÈ and PrÌncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe   Thanks for signing the petition. Now help us spread the word. Tweet

RESOURCES

There are many advocates and champions working to elevate nutrition on the global development agenda at this year’s UN General Assembly meetings.  As these newly released reports and resources show, greater progress on malnutrition is possible, but only with greater commitment:

SUN Movement Strategy - Scaling Up Nutrition

SUN Movement Progress Report 2011-2012 – Scaling Up Nutrition

The Nutrition Barometer: Gauging National Responses to Undernutrition – World Vision and Save the Children

Global Targets to Improve Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition – 1,000 Days

Aid for Nutrition – Action Against Hunger

The G-8 and G-20 Summits

The G-8 and G-20 Summits are key moments to ensure there is a strong focus on nutrition in the global development agenda. In order for any initiative to achieve impact in poverty and hunger alleviation at scale, it must improve nutrition for women and children throughout the world. Read More >