The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announces new $776 million investment in nutrition

On 3rd June 2015, during the European Development Days Melinda Gates made the announcement that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will more than double its investments in nutrition to $776 million over the next six years as part of a new commitment to nutrition.

“Malnutrition is the underlying cause of nearly half of all under-5 child deaths,” said Gates. “Yet for too long the world has underinvested in nutrition. Today we see an opportunity to change that. Along with the Gates Foundation, many European donors are now prioritizing nutrition, which we believe will be one of the fundamental solutions to help cut child mortality in half by 2030.” Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The announcement unlocks $180 million in additional matched funding from the UK’s Department for International Development who had committed to match 1:2 any pledge additional to those made at the Nutrition for Growth summit in 2013.

The Gates Foundation’s new approach to nutrition will:

• Reach women and children with solutions proven to improve nutrition, such as breastfeeding and food fortification, and expand research into innovative new approaches.
• Help women and adolescent girls before they become pregnant, improving the likelihood they’ll have a safe pregnancy and a healthy, well-nourished child.
• Improve food systems (in conjunction with the agriculture sector) to help ensure people have better access to safe, nutritious and affordable food year-round.
• Catalyze a data revolution in nutrition to strengthen the evidence-base for action, inform decisions and track progress toward goals and commitments.
• Focus work in India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, where there is both a high burden of malnutrition and a significant opportunity to affect positive change.

See the press release at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation