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UK hosts high-level meeting on global nutrition and growth

Britain co-hosts 'Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science' on 8 June

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Photograph of a farmer in Uganda

A farmer in Uganda shows off her crops. Picture: Pete Lewis/DFID

The UK government, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and the Government of Brazil will co-host Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science on 8 June to bring together business leaders, scientists, governments and civil society to make the political and financial commitments needed to prevent undernutrition, enabling people and nations to prosper.


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Nutrition for Growth Draft Accountability Paper : tracking progress on commitments made at the event - English

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Nutrition for Growth Draft Accountability Paper : tracking progress on commitments made at the event - Spanish

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Nutrition for Growth Draft Accountability Paper : tracking progress on commitments made at the event - Portuguese

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Nutrition for Growth - final commitments summary

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Global Nutrition for Growth Compact

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Pacte Mondiale de Nutrition pour la Croissance

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Compacto Nutrição Global para o Crescimento

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Pacto Mundial de la Nutrición para el Crecimiento

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The event follows on from the UK-Brazil Hunger Summit held in London last summer, which highlighted the devastating consequences of undernutrition on children.

We will also work with a range of companies to assess the progress and expand the reach of the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

Follow updates on Twitter #nutrition4growth. Picture: HarvestPlus

Follow updates on Twitter #nutrition4growth. Picture: HarvestPlus

Why nutrition, why now?

Undernutrition is the largest single contributor to child mortality worldwide, underlying one third of deaths amongst children under five. It is also responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in productivity, in effect stunting not only citizens, but also the competitiveness and economic growth of high-burden countries.

Globally, nearly one in four children under age 5 (165 million or 26% as of 2011) are stunted. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to three quarters of the world’s stunted children. Fourteen countries are home to 80% of the global burden of stunting – India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, DRC, Philippines, Tanzania, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan

Under nutrition affects mothers at conception, the health of the baby in utero, and the development of children through their early years. Failure to obtain the right nutrition at the right time seriously reduces the life chance of the next generation and prevents them, their communities, and their countries from achieving their full potential.

Investing in nutrition now will not only save more lives in the short-term but will set developing countries on a strong, independent economic growth trajectory.

Updates to this page

Published 26 April 2013
Last updated 14 October 2013 + show all updates
  1. Updated N4G Compact (English) to relect new signatories

  2. Updated the Compact document

  3. This page has been amended to add links to the French, Portuguese and Spanish translations of the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact.

  4. Addition of G8 line.

  5. Updated with more information and links

  6. First published.