Food and nutrition insecurity, particularly in childhood, casts a long shadow across the life course, contributing to intergenerational transfer of poverty, inequality, and ill-health. Its consequences are cumulative, often invisible, and tragically irreversible, making early and effective intervention crucial.
Malnutrition is not just a health issue to treat or prevent; it is a profound violation of human rights and a slow, hidden form of violence that undermines the development of individuals and societies.
As we approach key milestones like the upcoming Nutrition for Growth (N4G) international summit, hosted by France next March, we must challenge the political dynamics that hinder meaningful progress.
Although many initiatives have been launched in recent years, they too often fail to bring in new resources or ensure better allocation of existing ones. Nutrition programs remain underfunded, and nutrition objectives that could be integrated into other sectors - such as health, water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, or agriculture - are overwhelmingly overlooked.
The global effort to address malnutrition has undergone significant shifts over the past two decades. Since the publication of the first Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition in 2008, the landscape has evolved.
The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, launched in 2010, catalysed a broader commitment to nutrition interventions, demonstrating that the economic returns to such efforts are immense.
Yet despite this growing recognition, the challenge persists: political systems, driven by short-term goals and immediate payoffs, often fail to prioritise solutions to malnutrition, while benefits – improved health, reduced poverty, and economic gains – are realised over the long term.
The knowledge and resources to end hunger and malnutrition are readily available; what’s missing is the political will to effectively mobilise and transform them into meaningful, lasting change. Without the willingness to make long-term benefits politically rewarding in the short term, sustaining progress on issues like malnutrition becomes a challenge.
Thus, civil society and nutrition champions continue to call on the new EU leadership to make the fight against malnutrition a top political priority. Tackling malnutrition is about fighting inequality and injustice. Undernutrition in the early years of life stunts not only physical growth, but also cognitive development and immune function, locking children into a cycle of disadvantage.
Undernutrition disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable – those living in poverty, areas impacted by climate change, or conflict zones, where political instability exacerbates food and nutrition insecurity. To address these challenges effectively, development policies must focus on transformative shifts in power dynamics, ensuring that all individuals not only benefit but are empowered.
For instance, prioritising adolescent girls' and women’s good nutrition is particularly crucial, as it directly addresses gender inequalities and lays the foundation for breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, fostering healthier and more equitable communities.
Macro-level drivers, such as climate change, trade, debt pressure, and land-use policies, influence nutritional outcomes, often in ways that are remote from the immediate concerns of policymakers. Yet these drivers are crucial to shaping both national and global political landscapes for nutrition. For instance, food price volatility, and global supply chain disruptions can undermine even the best-laid plans for improving nutrition at the community level.
More than ever, strong mechanisms of accountability are needed. Governments, donors, and the private sector must be held accountable for the quality and effectiveness of their investments in nutrition. The private sector’s role, in particular, requires scrutiny, as it plays a pivotal role in shaping systems that can either contribute to or alleviate malnutrition.
The urgency of addressing malnutrition is heightened by the approaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline and the reality that, while some progress has been made toward the World Health Assembly nutrition targets, overall advancements fall significantly short of commitments - leaving the global community far from ending malnutrition for good.
New leadership in the European Union and other political arenas offers a critical opportunity to reinvigorate the fight against undernutrition. The time to act is now - because combating malnutrition is, at its core, a fight for equality, justice, and the future of generations to come.
Action Against Hunger invites you to sign a call to action to end malnutrition, which will be sent to EU leaders in the lead-up to the Nutrition for Growth Summit, hosted by France in March 2025.
Action Against Hunger, founded in 1979, is an NGO with a mission is to save lives by eliminating hunger through the prevention, detection and treatment of undernutrition, particularly during and after emergencies linked to conflict and natural disasters. Today we operate alongside communities in 55 countries around the world, including in Europe and Africa.
Action Against Hunger, founded in 1979, is an NGO with a mission is to save lives by eliminating hunger through the prevention, detection and treatment of undernutrition, particularly during and after emergencies linked to conflict and natural disasters. Today we operate alongside communities in 55 countries around the world, including in Europe and Africa.