By Lucy Martinez Sullivan, Executive Director, 1,000 Days
In 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations reached a historic agreement on 17 sustainable development goals that aim to end poverty and promote prosperity and well-being, including a bold commitment to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. This commitment includes a set of six World Health Assembly targets to address malnutrition by significantly reducing stunting, anemia, wasting, obesity, and low-birth weight and increasing exclusive breastfeeding by 2025.
And yet, as the Global Nutrition Report maintains, the world is off track to achieve these targets and end malnutrition once and for all. One in three people globally is malnourished. Nearly half of all child deaths are attributed to malnutrition and 156 million children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, suffering from life-long physical and cognitive damage that robs their potential and prevents families and communities from escaping poverty.
Reaching these targets in the next decade will require bold political and financial commitment, along with robust tracking and accountability to measure progress. Incremental change can no longer be the norm. The challenge may seem daunting, but now more than ever, the case for investment is indisputable.
Investments in nutrition to save lives and unlock human potential will pay high dividends in the form of a healthy, productive workforce that contributes to its nation’s economic growth, market development, and stability and security. Ignoring this moment of convergence for nutrition -- the new knowledge and impact analysis to guide our investments -- will be a missed opportunity.
Bill Gates recently said this and we agree – but it doesn’t have to be the case. We know what works, it’s time to hold leaders accountable to the next generation.
It’s past time to take action, and in a resource constrained environment, the question of where to start and how to spend cost-effectively is paramount. In 2016, the World Bank, Results for Development (R4D) and 1,000 Days released the “Global Investment Framework for Nutrition,” which provides policymakers with a roadmap to invest in nutrition and reach the World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. The analysis found that, due to years of chronic underinvestment, an additional $7 billion is needed each year for cost-effective and high-impact nutrition programs.
Governments have historically undervalued nutrition. Less than 1% of official aid money is spent on the nutrition-specific programs that deliver high-impact, life-saving interventions. The new findings make it very clear that the world cannot afford to wait any longer to prioritize nutrition. World leaders must make the proper investment in nutrition now.
Good nutrition, particularly during the critical 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s 2nd birthday, provides the essential building blocks for brain development and the foundation for children to learn and earn more in the future. Investments in nutrition are some of the most cost-effective investments in development, with every $1 spent on nutrition resulting in $16 in return.
We need to hold leaders accountable to invest in saving lives, improving economies and helping to end the cycle of poverty through investing in nutrition. As the G7 heads of state prepare to meet in Taormina, Italy in May for this year’s Summit, an opportunity to take concrete action to improve nutrition is readily available.
The G7 has served as an effective platform for improved nutrition in past years. In 2009, leaders at L’Aquila committed to building resilience through agriculture and food security. In 2015, G7 leaders at Schloss Elmau committed to lifting 500 million people out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
This year’s agenda will be filled with many of the most pressing challenges facing the world. We must remind world leaders that improved nutrition is critical to all of the objectives that G7 leaders seek to achieve and the achievement of previous commitments. Poor nutrition and food insecurity can undermine all other development goals.
Malnutrition robs the world of potential and progress. This global crisis requires global action in order to transform societies and economies and accelerate economic growth. G7 leaders can lay the foundation now for a stronger future.
As advocates, we must be relentless in holding them to account. Together, we need to ensure that G7 governments – including the United States – prioritize development assistance investments that are so critical to improving nutrition around the world. Now is not the time to retreat from investments that will build the next generation of healthy, productive families and communities. With so many uncertainties as to what the future holds, one thing is certain: investing in nutrition saves lives and grows economies. It’s a win-win and a promise that must be kept.
Lucy Martinez Sullivan helped found 1,000 Days and serves as its Executive Director. At 1,000 Days, Lucy is proud to lead a team of fierce advocates who work tirelessly on behalf of women and children in the U.S. and throughout the world. Prior to 1,000 Days, Lucy worked as Executive Director at CCS, a management consulting firm that provides counsel to nonprofit institutions on issues of strategy and philanthropy. Lucy’s clients included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Action Against Hunger and the UN Foundation. Lucy holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She resides in Washington D.C. with her husband and two young daughters who have turned her professional passion for maternal and young child nutrition into a personal one as well.