Asian Development Bank and SUN Movement forge new partnership to tackle malnutrition in Asia-Pacific

2 June 2025 - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Secretariat have signaled a strengthened collaboration to combat malnutrition across Asia and the Pacific. The partnership aims to integrate nutrition into various sectors, including health, agriculture, social protection, WASH, and climate change, reflecting mutual priorities of the two organizations.

The agreement, captured in a formal ‘Letter of Intent’, outlines a series of joint efforts focused on knowledge sharing, technical collaboration, budget tracking, financing models, and regional engagement. This initiative aligns with ADB’s forthcoming Operational Approach on Food Systems Transformation and its Strategy 2030.

"Nutrition integration is at the core of ADB’s development agenda," stated F. Cleo Kawawaki, Director General. "This partnership with the SUN Movement strengthens our collective commitment to the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) agenda. Together, we aim to advance nutrition integration as a co-benefit of ADB’s investment – across agriculture, climate, health, education, and social protection – by scaling up financing, aligning policy framework, and strengthening data systems."  

The SUN Movement, a multistakeholder platform with 67 governments and over 6,000 donors, civil society organizations, business entities, and UN bodies, is committed to tackling malnutrition in all forms. The movement emphasizes enhanced financing and investment for nutrition integration into various sectors as central to its system-based approach.

"We are delighted to formalize this collaboration with ADB," said Afshan Khan, Coordinator of the SUN Movement and UN Assistant Secretary-General. "This partnership will help SUN countries to build demand and capacity to access finance. Nutrition is central to maintaining and building human capital and economic resilience. And enhanced financing and investment is essential to integrate nutrition across sectors."

The collaboration will focus on several key areas. Knowledge sharing will involve jointly developing practical tools, data, and evidence to inform policy and programming. It will also include co-creating learning opportunities such as regional workshops and peer exchanges to integrate nutrition into ADB’s Country Partnership Strategies. Nutrition budget tagging and tracking will be another area of collaboration, contributing to studies like the ongoing SUN Movement–World Bank background study.

Furthermore, the partnership will explore financing models and innovative investment mechanisms, aiming to strengthen alignment between public sector financing, regulatory frameworks, and investments that improve nutrition outcomes. Regional engagement will include participation in dialogues and events like the EU–Asia platform and the SUN convened Compact for Nutrition Integration.

"Country ownership is vital for sustainable development," added the ADB Director General. "Our cooperation will be built on transparent relationships and shared priorities to achieve lasting impact."

Both organizations emphasized the importance of joint stakeholder engagement, cross-sector integration of nutrition, capacity building, and technical assistance. They also highlighted the significance of global and regional coordination and regular information exchange to ensure strategic alignment and support country-level nutrition goals.

The first review of activities is scheduled within one year from the signing of the Letter of Intent to assess progress and address any encountered issues, ensuring a timely and effective partnership to improve nutrition outcomes across Asia and the Pacific.