Global Nutrition Report 2015

As we move into the post-2015 era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world faces many seemingly intractable problems. Malnutrition should not be one of them. Countries that are determined to make rapid advances in malnutrition reduction can do so. If governments want to achieve the SDG target of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, they have clear pathways to follow. There are many levers to pull, and this report provides many examples of countries that have done so. Tackling malnutrition effectively is also key to meeting many other SDG targets. Good nutrition signals the realization of people’s rights to food and health. It reflects a narrowing of the inequalities in our world. Without good nutrition, human beings cannot achieve their full potential. When people’s nutrition status improves, it helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, generates broad-based economic growth, and leads to a host of benefits for individuals, families, communities, and countries. Good nutrition provides both a foundation for human development and the scaffolding needed to ensure it reaches its full potential. Good nutrition, in short, is an essential driver of sustainable development.

As we move into the post-2015 era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world faces many seemingly intractable problems. Malnutrition should not be one of them. Countries that are determined to make rapid advances in malnutrition reduction can do so, and the incentives to improve nutrition are strong. Good nutrition provides a vital foundation for human development, central to meeting our full potential. When nutrition status improves, it leads to a host of positive outcomes for individuals and families. Many more children will live to see their fifth birthdays, their growth will be less disrupted, and they will gain in height and weight. They will learn more in school because their brain function is not impaired. As a result of this positive early environment, as adults they will have better jobs and get ill less often. Older adults will age more healthily and live longer.

At the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit in London, 96 signatories (governments, civil society organizations, donors, United Nations’ agencies, and businesses) agreed to support the creation of an annual report on global nutrition that would be authored by an independent expert group, in partnership with a large number of contributors. The first edition of this report, the Global Nutrition Report 2014, puts a spotlight on worldwide progress by the 193 member countries of the United Nations in improving their nutrition status, identifies bottlenecks to change, highlights opportunities for action, and contributes to strengthened nutrition accountability on country and global levels.

As we move into the post-2015 era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world faces many seemingly intractable problems. Malnutrition should not be one of them. Countries that are determined to make rapid advances in malnutrition reduction can do so, and the incentives to improve nutrition are strong. Good nutrition provides a vital foundation for human development, central to meeting our full potential. When nutrition status improves, it leads to a host of positive outcomes for individuals and families. Many more children will live to see their fifth birthdays, their growth will be less disrupted, and they will gain in height and weight. They will learn more in school because their brain function is not impaired. As a result of this positive early environment, as adults they will have better jobs and get ill less often. Older adults will age more healthily and live longer.

As we move into the post-2015 era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world faces many seemingly intractable problems. Malnutrition should not be one of them. Countries that are determined to make rapid advances in malnutrition reduction can do so, and the incentives to improve nutrition are strong. Good nutrition provides a vital foundation for human development, central to meeting our full potential. When nutrition status improves, it leads to a host of positive outcomes for individuals and families. Many more children will live to see their fifth birthdays, their growth will be less disrupted, and they will gain in height and weight. They will learn more in school because their brain function is not impaired. As a result of this positive early environment, as adults they will have better jobs and get ill less often. Older adults will age more healthily and live longer.

Few challenges facing the global community today match the scale of malnutrition, a condition that directly affects 1 in 3 people. Malnutrition manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals who are skin and bone or prone to infection; as those who are carrying too much weight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat, or cholesterol; or those who are deficient in important vitamins or minerals. Malnutrition and diet are by far the biggest risk factors for the global burden of disease: every country is facing a serious public health challenge from malnutrition. The economic consequences represent losses of 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) every year in Africa and Asia, whereas preventing malnutrion delivers $16 in returns on investment for every $1 spent. The world’s countries have agreed on targets for nutrition, but despite some progress in recent years the world is off track to reach those targets. This third stocktaking of the state of the world’s nutrition points to ways to reverse this trend and end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.

Hidden hunger has long been an overlooked problem. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies have to be remedied and the availability of calories needs to be increased. As a matter of fact, the number of people who do not have access to a balanced diet has multiplied in rich and poor countries, with lasting consequences for health and well-being. Hidden hunger not only affects childhood growth and cognitive development, but also reduces productivity and well-being later in life, thus keeping the affected population trapped in a circle of poverty and malnutrition. This book illustrates the global fight against hunger by national governments and international organizations. Presented at the Third Hidden Hunger Conference held at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, it presents a range of strategies being implemented in various regions of the world to improve nutrition quality and combat this international crisis.

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.