Ask almost any pediatrician or child expert, and they will tell you: Good nutrition is the foundation for healthy development, especially during the first 1,000 days of a childs life. When children are well-nourished, they are better able to grow, learn, and engage with their communities, and to be resilient in the face of illness.��
Undernutrition is linked to nearly half of all deaths in children under five. Today, an estimated 148 million young children are affected by stuntingbeing too short for their age as a result of chronic undernutrition, often starting in the womb. Stunting isnt just about height; it reflects lasting setbacks in brain development, immune strength, and overall healthconsequences that can limit a childs potential for life. Another 45 million children suffer from wasting, a life-threatening condition where they are dangerously thin for their height. There is enough food in the world to feed all children everywhere, and yet, we are still not on track to achieve global nutrition targets by 2030.
We are facing a pivotal moment for the worlds children. Poverty, climate change, and humanitarian crises pose critical challenges to feeding children sustainably. The sheer magnitude of the obstacles can seem overwhelming, but there is incredible news: The child nutrition crisis is completely solvable, if we come together to scale up sustainable solutions.
A core part of UNICEFs work is preventing malnutrition by improving childrens and womens access to nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets. We know what to do, but we need financing, at the right time, directed at the right places.
A solution aimed at ending child undernutrition
The Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), led by UNICEF, is changing how we tackle child undernutritionby making funding smarter, more coordinated, and built to scale. The CNF unlocks government investment by pooling global resources and expanding access to proven solutions. The ambition is bold: Reach 320 million women and children every year by 2030. To make that happen, the CNF is working to mobilize $2 billion over the next five yearsinviting partners to help drive lasting, system-level change for the worlds most vulnerable children.
The CNF is a massive undertaking that has the potential to change the lives of millions of children and women. With reductions in foreign aid putting more children at risk than ever, innovative partnershipslike the one driving the CNFare even more urgent.
A partnership effort to realize impact
Achieving goals at this scale means involving some of the worlds most influential people and organizations. The support of founding partners such as the Gates Foundation, the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FDCO) of the UK government has been critical. For example, the Gates Foundations initial $70 million contribution supported CNFs development and launch, opened conversations for initial deals on scaling up maternal nutrition services,and helped local therapeutic food manufacturers expand production to meet unprecedented demand. Likewise, the respective $79 million and 21 million investments from the CIFF and FDCO to date demonstrate the catalytic nature of the fund and the necessity of partnership to meet its goals.
Momentum for the CNF continued at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris in March, where Kirk Humanitarian committed the first pledge of$125 millionto accelerate adoption of prenatal supplements in high burden countries that have demonstrated readiness and political commitment for long-term, sustainable scale up. Kirk Humanitarian has already deployed over $34 million for 16 million bottles of prenatal supplements to the CNF in support of UNICEFs Improving Maternal Nutrition Acceleration Plan. At the same time, the Gates Foundation announced an additional $50 million commitment to the CNF to continue and expand on its work through 2028.
Also at the N4G, Jackie and Mike Bezos committed up to $500 million to the CNF in a landmark effort to end child undernutrition. This historic investment is poised to save millions of livesnot just today, but for generations to come. The matching component of their commitment is intended to inspire others to step up and multiply the impact.
The Womens Tennis Association Foundation has also joined the effort, supporting the CNF through UNICEFs Improving Maternal Nutrition Acceleration Plan to prevent anemia and malnutrition in pregnant women.
These partnerships support the CNFs ability to build robust and sustainable systems and strong infrastructure to create a future where no child suffers from undernutrition.
Promising early results show that it is possible to end undernutrition
These investments are already delivering results. In Pakistan, UNICEF, backed by the CNF, launched a program to bring essential nutrition and health services to the countrys most vulnerable communities.Through the CNF Match Windowwhich enables governments to double their investments in essential nutrition suppliesmore than 150,000 women received nutritional supplements leading to healthier pregnancies and stronger birth outcomes. The results were so compelling that Pakistans Ministry of Health partnered with UNICEF to scale up the program to reach 2 million women.
Weve known for a long time the devastating toll malnutrition has on a childs ability to live a healthy, full life. But with the CNF, what once felt insurmountable now has a clear path forward. By reimagining how we finance solutionsblending public and private investment, sustaining long-term support, and incentivizing government actionwere not just responding to a crisis, were building a system designed to end it. The tools are in place. The momentum is real. And now, theres an opportunity for bold partners to come together and change the future. With the right investments, we will end child undernutritionfor good.
Michele Walsh is executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer of UNICEF USA.
