Childhood nutrition gets $1B boost
Fund emphasizes first 1,000 days of life as critical
Private investors from UBS and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation have teamed with UNICEF and other international development agencies to bankroll a $1 billion independent fund to tackle problems with childhood and maternal nutrition in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The fund, called The Power of Nutrition, will leverage $55 million from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), $47 million from Britain’s Department for International Development and $26 million from the UBS Optimus Foundation with matching funds from UNICEF and the World Bank Group. The fund’s matching offer guarantees every $1 in private funding will be multiplied up to six times with the matching funds, including at least $55 million from a new World Bank Group trust fund and another $100 million from the bank’s International Development Association trust for the world’s poorest, CIFF CEO Michael Anderson said.
The first $200 million is available now, the backers announced Thursday during a panel at the World Bank.
The fund will pump money into nutrition programs that focus on the first 1,000 days of life, from maternal nutrition at conception to a child’s nutrition before he or she reaches school age.
“We know that good nutrition has one of the biggest multiplier effects for development,” Anderson said. “Well-nourished kids grow up to be higher wage earners.”
UNICEF estimates that 161 million children have stunted development because of poor nutrition, UNICEF executive direc- tor Tony Lake said. In a country with widespread undernutrition, that adds up to a drag on development, he said. “It’s a huge opportunity, because progress is very possible,” Lake said.
Tanzania has reduced undernutrition and “stunting ” 2% to 3% a year. Tanzanian finance minister Saada Mkuya Salum said the program, though currently underfunded by 75%, has support at all levels of the government, from village leadership to Tanzania’s prime minister.
“There is a political commitment,” she said. “We are also striving to ensure that domestic resources will invest in nutrition.”
A child’s development during the first 1,000 days is critical to intellect, future health and ability to earn a living and contribute to a country’s development, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director and chief operating officer, World Bank Group said.
Insufficient nutrition underlies 45% of child deaths under age 5 — accounting for 3 million deaths a year, she said. In Africa and South Asia, nearly four in 10 children suffer from poor nutrition.
“Lack of micronutrients like iodine and Vitamin A, particularly for children, has devastating consequences, with damages that are irreversible,” Indrawati said. “Children who are iodine deficient lose up to 13 IQ points and stay at least one year less in school.” Children who are properly nourished are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults, Indrawati said.
“Getting children the right nutrients at the right time can save 3 million lives and make sure that children keep up in school and become productive adults,” Indrawati said.