Increasing nutrition financing
Financing for nutrition will be a clear priority for the Movement’s third phase. It will be pursued proactively and vigorously, as a deliberate and significant shift from SUN’s second phase.
Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global community estimated that $7 billion a year was needed to finance the scale-up of a package of evidence-based interventions, mostly through the health sector. These interventions would prevent 65 million cases of stunting and 265 million cases of anaemia in women by 2025, compared with the 2015 baseline. In addition, at least 91 million children under 5 years of age would be treated for severe wasting and 105 million babies would be exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life, over a period of 10 years. These investments would need to go hand-in-hand with nutrition-sensitive investments through other sectors and systems, such as food, agriculture, social protection, water and sanitation, and education.
The financing landscape for nutrition has improved in recent years, also as a result of actions taken through the SUN Movement. Many countries have developed costed plans, common results frameworks and established financial tracking mechanisms. Steps have been taken to link countries with financing mechanisms that can be used to implement parts of national plans. This includes the Global Financing Facility, the Power of Nutrition and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, among others.
Economic contractions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will require increasingly creative measures to address this financing gap and ensure that gains made during SUN’s third phase are not lost.
Although last decade has brought greater recognition of the importance of investing to address the immediate and underlying drivers of poor nutrition, national nutrition plans remain significantly underfunded.
The role of nutrition is increasingly pivotal in a world dealing with challenges like inequalities, conflicts, and a pandemic.
This paper analyzes the context of nutrition financing, highlights three key opportunities for countries and stakeholders working on financing malnutrition prevention and treatment, and shares key messages and priorities in nutrition financing. By focusing on these important aspects, SUN countries can receive support to make significant progress in addressing their nutrition challenges.