Progress Shows that Stunting Can Be Defeated – UNICEF

On 15 April a new UNICEF issued its first nutrition report since 2009, Improving Child Nutrition, the Achievable Imperative for Global Progress– that shows that accelerated progress against stunting – is both ‘possible and necessary.’

April 20, 2013 - Last update: July 4, 2022

On 15 April a new UNICEF issued its first nutrition report since 2009 at the Dublin Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice organized by the Irish Government. The report, Improving Child Nutrition, the Achievable Imperative for Global Progress – that shows that accelerated progress against stunting – is both ‘possible and necessary.’

Over 165 million children under the age of five are stunted as a result of malnutrition causing irreversible impacts on growth and brain development. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake notes that, “stunting can kill opportunities in life for a child and kill opportunities for development of a nation. “Our evidence of the progress that is being achieved shows that now is the time to accelerate it.”

The report highlights successes in scaling up nutrition and improving policies, programs and behavior change in 11 countries – Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam – and emphasizes that continued progress is possible by focusing on the critical 1,000 day window from pregnancy to the child’s second birthday.

The report also notes that the work of partnerships, including the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, are creating unprecedented opportunities to address childhood undernutrition by supporting country-led progress through coordinated donor support and identification of measureable targets.

The release of the report adds to the continued push for nutrition throughout 2013, including the International Conference Against Child Undernutriiton organized by UNICEF in Paris 14-15 May, and the high level nutrition meeting hosted by the UK Government and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation on 8 June in London.

Coinciding with the release of the report, the UNICEF Office of Research organized a debate between SUN Movement Coordinator, David Nabarro; Director of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), Lawrence Haddad; Research Fellow in the Health and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Purmina Menon; Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Ghana, Dr. Anna Lartey; and Professor Andrew Tomkins. The discussion focused on addressing why millions of children are still undernourished and what are the solutions. Watch the debate below: