The event follows on from the UK-Brazil Hunger Summit held in London last summer, which highlighted the devastating consequences of undernutrition on children.
We will also work with a range of companies to assess the progress and expand the reach of the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.
Why nutrition, why now?
Undernutrition is the largest single contributor to child mortality worldwide, underlying one third of deaths amongst children under five. It is also responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in productivity, in effect stunting not only citizens, but also the competitiveness and economic growth of high-burden countries.
Globally, nearly one in four children under age 5 (165 million or 26% as of 2011) are stunted. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to three quarters of the world’s stunted children. Fourteen countries are home to 80% of the global burden of stunting – India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, DRC, Philippines, Tanzania, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan
Under nutrition affects mothers at conception, the health of the baby in utero, and the development of children through their early years. Failure to obtain the right nutrition at the right time seriously reduces the life chance of the next generation and prevents them, their communities, and their countries from achieving their full potential.
Investing in nutrition now will not only save more lives in the short-term but will set developing countries on a strong, independent economic growth trajectory.