The Government of Canada announces $130 million in new funding for nutrition

Source: Micronutrient Initiative

On 14 July 2015, $130 million in new funding was announced by the Government of Canada for the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) to reach the world’s most vulnerable women and children with critical nutrition interventions. MI recognises that malnutrition remains one of the most persistent global challenges, limiting human potential, undermining the development progress of more than two billion people and affecting every region of the globe.

“This investment will help secure a better future for the poorest women and children in some of the hardest hit countries in the world — improving their health, their capacity to learn and earn, and helping them to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and undernutrition… The support from Canada is game-changing and will help propel MI to a new level of impact as a global nutrition organization.” – Joel Spicer, President, Micronutrient Initiative.

With the new funding, which will span over five years, MI will ensure children get the right start to life with better nutrition by prioritising their efforts towards the critical 1000-day window of opportunity (between conception and a child’s second birthday) and better nutrition for adolescent girls. The investment also allows MI to enter new and innovative partnerships to ensure an integrated approach to scaling up nutrition.

The announcement was made by Christian Paradis, Canadian Minister for International Development and member of the SUN Movement Lead Group, at the event entitled “Financing Growth: Mobilizing Leadership and Investment in Nutrition”. The event was co-hosted by MI, the Government of Ethiopia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, World Bank, UNICEF, RESULTS for Development (R4D) and 1,000 Days, and held in the margins of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Nutrition is absolutely critical to the health and survival of mothers and children, especially for vulnerable populations around the world. With Canada’s continued support and leadership, we are confident these programs and initiatives undertaken by the Micronutrient Initiative will have significant impact on child survival and maternal health.” – Christian Paradis, Minister for International Development, Canada and member of the SUN Movement Lead Group.

Learn more about the investment: Micronutrient Initiative

Learn more about the event: Financing Growth

Learn more about the Third International Conference on Financing for Development: Nutrition at FfD3