Category: Region

From Food Security to Nutrition Security: Bridging the Gap for a Healthier World

Photo: K. Trautmann via Flickr

“Fighting global food insecurity means more than feeding the world – it also means nourishing the world. Calories alone are insufficient to increase individuals’ well-being, fuel economic growth and build resilient, prosperous communities.”

– 2023 Feed the Future Snapshot

After more than 3 years of worst-case scenario hunger headlines, this year’s plateau in global food insecurity was, relatively, a breath of fresh air. Global hunger remained relatively unchanged this year, and we saw the gender gap in food insecurity, which got worse during the pandemic, decrease by 37%.

But despite these positive-seeming signs, we are not yet out of the woods. Global food insecurity remains far worse than it was in 2019, with 122 million more people facing hunger in 2022 than in 2019. Ongoing conflict, as well as climate and economic shocks, threaten to tip the scales and send food insecurity numbers surging again. In this crisis, it is easy to view the quality of calories as less important than the quantity, but there are millions of vulnerable people who cannot sustain themselves on calories alone. Experts estimate that over half of preschool-aged children and two-thirds of non-pregnant women of reproductive age worldwide have micronutrient deficiencies. Even if we fed every hungry person today, millions of women and children would still be malnourished, jeopardizing their wellbeing and limiting countries’ overall potential and growth. As we focus on the monumental task of addressing these sky-high rates of global hunger, we must ensure achieving nutrition security is a fundamental component of our food security strategy.

Nutrition security means making sure people not only have enough to eat, but that they have sufficient nutrients to ensure they are not malnourished. It means moving beyond solutions focused merely on providing hungry people with starchy staples that may be able to sustain life but are insufficient to meet their nutritional needs. It means ensuring people have access to diverse diets that include fruits, vegetables, legumes, and animal-sourced foods. When healthy diets are unavailable, it means providing stop-gap nutrition interventions, like specialized food supplements and fortified foods, and screening and treating severely malnourished children promptly with ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).

Nutrition is often sidelined as a secondary component of food security efforts, but for vulnerable groups, it is often the difference between life and death or a barrier to a child developing to their full potential. The most vulnerable of these groups are children in the 1000-day window between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday for whom even a short bout of malnutrition can cause lifelong physical and cognitive consequences leading them to perform less well in school and earn less as adults. We also know that in times of food insecurity, women often bear the brunt of the hunger burdens for their families, eating last and least to help food stretch further. We must ensure these women get the nutrition care they need, both for their own sakes and because malnourished mothers often give birth to malnourished babies, perpetuating an inter-generational cycle of malnutrition.

To build true food security, we must draw from models that build resilience across vulnerable communities. One such model is the U.S. Department of State’s Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) which focuses on developing climate-resilient varieties of nutritious, indigenous crops with the potential to diversify diets and reduce rates of malnutrition. Similarly, initiatives that strengthen and embed nutrition interventions into national health systems build community resilience to food shocks by ensuring nutrition care continues even when food availability diminishes.

In the coming years, the world will face numerous threats to global food security, the most serious of which is likely the growing threat climate change poses to the quantity and quality of food that is available. Increasingly frequent climate shocks will make crops harder to grow and livestock harder to raise which will ultimately decrease food supply and incomes for agricultural workers. The food that does grow will be less nutritionally dense. In the face of these challenges, we will need to take concrete steps to shore up global food security. Clear plans to address malnutrition along with hunger will be key to any successful strategy.

Improving the Health of Ourselves and Our Nation

By Minerva Delgado, Director of Coalitions & Advocacy at the Alliance to End Hunger

March is National Nutrition Month. While the first impression we may get from hearing this is interpreting it as a challenge that seems simple and straightforward, the truth is that we as Americans are not great at nutritious eating.   

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Healthy Eating Index reports,…“average diets in the U.S. do not conform to dietary recommendations.” The CDC reports that only small percentages of American adults consume the suggested amounts of fruits (12%) and vegetables (10%) daily. Poor nutrition can contribute to illness and death. Poor diets have been associated with nearly half of deaths from cardiometabolic diseases in the United States.

Developing healthier eating habits, while important, can be really challenging. These challenges are only further compounded for low-income families. Low-income households face additional challenges and tend to have fewer resources, less time for food preparation, and less access to healthy foods. Federal nutrition programs provide an opportunity to mitigate these challenges and support healthier diets.

The USDA defines nutrition security as consistent and equitable access to health, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being. Nutrition security has become an important goal of federal nutrition programs alongside the long-standing goal of food security. We know that nutrition and food security are intertwined – a person cannot achieve nutrition security if they are food insecure. Unfortunately, food insecurity has been increasing.  Food insecurity increased sharply in 2022 across all populations. Across our country, an estimated 44 million people, including 13 million children, were living in food-insecure households.

Fortunately, most food-insecure households can turn to federal nutrition programs. These programs form a necessary food safety net, providing access to food and improving nutrition, health, household finances, academic outcomes for children and productivity for adults. They also have broad societal impacts such as supporting farmers and retailers, reducing healthcare costs and increasing gross domestic product.

Two key programs are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

SNAP is the largest federal nutrition program, with over 42 million people receiving a monthly shopping credit to be used at approved retailers including grocery stores, farmers markets, and online shopping. The size of the benefit depends on a variety of criteria, such as income and household size, and was recently raised to an average of approximately $5.45 per person per day.  This bump in the SNAP benefit was the result of a reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan, the basis of the SNAP benefit amount.

While the benefit is modest, it has a huge impact on program participants. SNAP helps families stretch their food budgets, putting nutritious foods within reach.  As reported by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “SNAP improves food security, offers benefits that enable families to purchase healthier diets, and frees up resources that can be used for health-promoting activities and needed medical care.” 

According to USDA, SNAP reduces the rate of food insecurity among participants by at least 30%, particularly among young children and the most food insecure families.  Participation in SNAP lays the foundation for greater nutrition security among participants. 

WIC differs from SNAP in specifically focusing on “nutritionally at-risk” mothers and children. In addition to offering health screenings and breastfeeding support, WIC families receive vouchers for foods meant to maximize healthy birth outcomes and child development.

WIC has demonstrated multiple nutrition and health benefits, including: decreasing fetal deaths and infant mortality; improving the growth of nutritionally at-risk infants and children; and significantly improving children’s diets. Children enrolled in WIC are more likely to have a regular source of medical care and up-to-date immunizations. WIC also prepares children for school by improving intellectual development.

National Nutrition Month is an opportunity to highlight the tremendous importance of these programs as we strive to improve the nation’s nutrition and health. It was great to see Congress recently invest an additional $1 billion in WIC to address growing need for this vital program.  Now Congress has another opportunity to help struggling families through continued protection of and investment in SNAP. We have the opportunity to use this month of action to not only look inwardly at our own nutritional choices, but also more broadly at what will make our nation as a whole healthier.

This IWD, #InvestInWomen by Closing the Gender Nutrition Gap

Around the world, more than a billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and/or anemia. Malnutrition is robbing women of their earnings and energy, adolescent girls of their educational opportunities, and young girls of the chance to grow up to reach their full potential. Without tackling malnutrition, we will never reach gender equality.

The Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit is a global pledging moment that brings together governments, philanthropies, businesses, and NGOs to accelerate progress against malnutrition. The next N4G Summit will take place in early 2025 in Paris, France and will be a critical opportunity to spotlight women and girls’ nutrition.

This International Women’s Day, we are calling on governments and donors to prioritize women and girls’ futures by investing in closing the gender nutrition gap at N4G 2025.

Here are five key nutrition issues threatening women and girls, and some concrete solutions governments and donors can pledge to scale at the next N4G summit:

1. Women and adolescent girls face unequal burdens of micronutrient deficiencies, especially anemia.

Anemia is the number one threat to the long-term health of adolescent girls and afflicts almost one-third of women of reproductive age. Progress against anemia lags other nutrition achievements, and only one country (Guatemala) is on track to meet the globally agreed 2030 target on anemia. Meanwhile, deficiencies in vitamin and mineral status, particularly of folate, iron, vitamin A, and zinc, affect 67% of all women of reproductive age (WRA) worldwide. Micronutrient deficiencies can be life-threatening and cause extreme fatigue and poor concentration, hindering learning potential, educational attainment, and productivity. By scaling interventions that target anemia, we can cure millions of women and girls of this debilitating condition.

    Here are two actions that can help: 

    • Fortify staple foods with essential nutrients to prevent, reduce, and control micronutrient deficiencies at the population level.
    • Supply all pregnant women with multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) with a focus on increasing adherence through improving availability combined with nutrition counseling in ANC services and mid and mass media communications.

    2. Climate change poses a disproportionate threat to women’s nutrition and food security.

    Climate change is increasing extreme weather events like heat waves, droughts, and floods, which impact food quantity, quality, and diversity. These climate shocks will put growing stress on food and nutrition security in the years to come. The food that does grow will be less nutritionally dense, which can lead to deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals. Women are most likely to bear the brunt of this climate-related food insecurity. Not only are women more susceptible to micronutrient deficiencies, but women and girls are more likely to reduce their food intake and eat last and least in their households. Additionally, poorer regions and disadvantaged adolescent girls and women already bear the brunt of undernutrition and anemia and will be least equipped to respond to the climate impacts likely to hit many of these same regions the hardest. By investing in strategies to build resilience to climate-related malnutrition, we can mitigate some of these effects.  

      Here are two actions that can help: 

      • Promote long-term, climate-resilient food and nutrition security and protect the livelihoods of woman farmers by developing diverse, climate-resilient crop varieties. Contribute to initiatives like the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) Multi-Donor Fund hosted by IFAD.
      • Expand conditional cash transfers (CCTs) targeted to women to allow for greater flexibility in the face of humanitarian emergencies like natural disasters.

      3. Every year, millions of girls miss out on the opportunity to grow, learn, and earn to their full potential because of malnutrition they experience in early childhood.

        As we strive to address inequities in adult women’s nutrition, we must keep in mind the life-changing impact good nutrition can have on young girls today. Girls who are well-nourished are healthier, more productive, and more likely to finish and excel in school, be economically independent, and have healthy babies. Targeted nutrition interventions are a cost-effective way to give girls today a bright future and boost their chances of overcoming poverty and reaching their educational goals.  

        Here are three actions that can help: 

        • Protect large-scale Vitamin A supplementation to prevent vision problems, illness, and death.
        • Ensure children and their parents have access to quality nutrition counseling to promote dietary diversity and the consumption of animal-sourced foods.
        • Expand access to specialized foods (eg. RUTF and SQ-LNS) to prevent and treat child wasting 

        4. Women who choose to breastfeed often face workplace barriers and lack the support they need to be successful.

        Breastfeeding provides numerous benefits to both mothers and their babies. Breastfeeding gives all children the healthiest start in life and promotes cognitive development and acts as a baby’s first vaccine, providing critical protection from disease and death. It also reduces the burden of childhood and maternal illness, lowering health care costs, creating healthier families, and strengthening the development of nations. Family-friendly workplace policies promote gender equity and women’s economic participation, while strengthening the economy. By giving women the information and space they need to breastfeed successfully, they can be empowered to make an informed choice about how to feed their children.  

        Here are three actions that can help: 

        • Enact and promote adequate paid family leave, including maternity and parental leave, and breastfeeding breaks for women who chose to breastfeed.
        • Support breastfeeding mothers with one-to-one and group breastfeeding counseling.
        • Promote greater male engagement in infant and young child feeding (IYCF) to lessen the care burden for mothers.

        5. Commitments made at large pledging moments often lack accountability mechanisms.  

        Large pledging moments are critical for raising the profile of nutrition interventions, but they can only be truly successful if governments, philanthropies, businesses, and NGOs are held accountable for the commitments they make. This accountability requires commitment makers to invest in clear, quality data on spending, outputs, and outcomes.

        Here are three actions that can help:

        • Invest in strong nutrition data systems that ensure routine collection of data on girls and women to support effective policies and programs and to advocate for nutrition investment across sectors.
        • Improve accountability by tracking how global and national actors are currently investing in nutrition data and information systems.
        • Invest in global nutrition financing tracking system to improve coordination, resource mobilization, and resource allocation and regularly track progress on commitments made in the Nutrition Accountability Framework.

        Maximizing Potential: The Impact of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) for Improved Maternal and Child Health

        In the quest for improved maternal and child health and gender equality, we often overlook a fundamental intersection with the importance of good nutrition. The unique biological needs of women, gender disparities in access to food and services, and harmful social norms contribute to an ever-growing gender nutrition gap. During pregnancy, increased nutritional needs due to physical changes and the needs of a growing baby further exacerbate this gap. Micronutrient deficiencies during pregnancy put both mothers and babies at risk of birth complications, small vulnerable newborns, and even death, and the lack of nutrients in this critical period can prevent children from reaching their full physical and mental potential. Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) during pregnancy provides a transformative solution to mitigating a wide array of harmful micronutrient deficiencies. During #March4Nutrition, we want to highlight MMS as a proven solution to meet the increased nutritional needs of women during pregnancy and further children’s growth, learning, and overall well-being.

        World Health Organization Releases Guidelines on the Prevention of Acute Malnutrition

        World Health Organization Releases Guidelines on the Prevention of Acute Malnutrition

        In November 2023, the World Health Organization released updated guidelines on the prevention of acute malnutrition, also known as wasting. The guidelines followed the release of guidelines specific to the management and treatment of wasting and nutritional oedema that the organization published in July 2023.

        Preventing malnutrition is key to long-term growth, development, and positive economic outcomes. Nutrition interventions, including those that prevent malnutrition, are some of the best buys in global development. Ensuring children have access to good nutrition when it matters most is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to create brighter, healthier futures. Leading economists consistently rank nutrition interventions among the most cost-effective ways to save and improve lives around the world with every $1 invested yielding up to $35 in economic returns.

        Malnutrition continues to be one of the leading drivers of child death and disability. Malnutrition is the greatest threat to child survival worldwide and is the underlying cause of half of preventable child deaths. That is roughly 3 million children dying before their fifth birthday every year. Those who do survive severe malnutrition in early childhood are much more likely than their well-nourished peers to suffer from lifelong illnesses and disabilities.

        We continue to see unprecedented rates of malnutrition and nutrition insecurity as the result of conflicts, climate shocks and stressors, and lingering impacts of the pandemic. New child malnutrition estimates from UNICEF released in May 2023 found that stunting (too short for their age) impacted 22.3% of children under 5 (148.1 million) globally and wasting (too thin for his or her height), the deadliest form of malnutrition, threatened the lives of 6.8%, or 45 million children under 5 globally.

        1,000 Days welcomes the two new recommendations specific to the prevention of wasting and nutritional oedema as well as the two new good practice statements:

        • Recommendation 1: In areas of, or during times of high food insecurity, in addition to infant and young child feeding counselling, specially formulated foods (SFFs), including medium-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (MQ-LNS) or small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS), may be considered for the prevention of wasting and nutritional oedema for a limited duration for all infants and children 6-23 months of age, while continuing to enable access to adequate home diets for the whole family; and in areas of, or during times of high food insecurity, children living in the most vulnerable households should be prioritized for SFF interventions through a targeted approach. However, when targeting is not possible, these SFFs may need to be given to all households through a blanket approach for infants and children 6-23 months of age, while continuing to enable access to adequate home diets for the whole family and providing infant and young child feeding counselling. (Conditional recommendation; Grade: Low certainty evidence)
        • Recommendation 2: In contexts where wasting and nutritional oedema occur, multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) should not be given to infants and children 6-23 months of age for the specific purpose of preventing wasting and nutritional oedema. (Strong recommendation; Grade: Moderate certainty evidence)
        • Good Practice Statement 1: In contexts where wasting and nutritional oedema occur, preventive interventions should ideally be implemented through a multisectoral and multisystem approach (i.e. food, health, safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and social protection systems). These interventions should include access to healthy diets and nutrition and medical services as appropriate, counselling (breastfeeding, health and nutrition related, especially helping families use locally available nutrient-dense foods for a healthy diet), should address maternal and family needs, and should involve psychosocial elements of care to ensure healthy growth and development.
        • Good Practice Statement 2: Infant and young child feeding counselling must be provided as part of routine care especially in contexts where wasting and nutritional oedema occur. In order for this counselling to have the most benefit for the prevention of wasting and for other child health and nutrition outcomes, personnel carrying out the counselling should have comprehensive training and be supervised regularly, with dedicated resources and time within health system strategic planning for this intervention.

        In both the recommendations and in the practice statements, we were pleased to see mention of a multi-sectoral and family approach to these interventions to prevent wasting and nutritional oedema. It is key to provide access to nutritious foods and nutrition support, including breastfeeding counseling and complementary feeding, to whole families to address maternal, infant, and child nutritional needs. The guidelines note that prevention requires a package of interventions to be implemented together rather than focusing on one single intervention. We also support the recommended psychosocial elements of care to ensure healthy growth and development as preventing malnutrition early in life impacts long-term health.

        These guidelines provide organizations with the tools necessary to prevent, manage, and treat malnutrition. WHO also notes that further research is needed for many of the recommendations outlined in the guidelines to be most effective in efforts to prevent and treat wasting. The guidelines provide a critical opportunity to advocate for the essential resources to support good, life-long nutrition, particularly among vulnerable populations, including those in the 1,000-day window.

        Understanding Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days: Black Moms and Birthing People

        To improve our advocacy and nutrition education efforts, 1,000 Days strove to understand sources of nutrition information during the first 1,000-day window and gaps in culturally relevant communications about healthy diets. Through a combination of qualitative research methods, including surveys and an environmental scan, we listened to over 225 Black pregnant and birthing people about their perceptions of their health, when and how they received nutrition information related to their pregnancy, and their preferred sources of information.

        1,000 Days Statement on Increased U.S. Infant Mortality Rates

        At 1,000 Days, we are deeply concerned by the recent CDC data revealing an increase in infant mortality in the United States for the first time in two decades. Our nation has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates of any wealthy country. This disheartening increase is a stark reminder of the urgent need for collective action to address the critical challenges facing maternal and child health in the United States.

        The CDC found that the overall infant mortality rate increased by 3% with significant increases for mothers aged 25-29. Mortality rates also climbed for preterm babies, male infants, and for infants born in Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas. The data also shows a deepening divide along racial and ethnic lines with infant mortality rates for American Indian or Alaska Native women increasing by over 20%, from 7.4 deaths to over 9 deaths per 1,000 births, while rates for White women increased by about 3% from 4.36 deaths to 4.52 deaths per 1,000 births. Infant mortality rates for infants of Black women did not drastically increase but they continue to experience the highest overall rates of mortality with nearly 11 deaths per 1,000 births, or over double the mortality rate of White infants. The significant disparities in infant mortality rates among different racial groups highlight the pervasive impact of systemic inequities on health outcomes.

        1,000 Days remains dedicated to our mission of making the health and well-being of women and children in the first 1,000 days, from pregnancy to two years of age, a policy and funding priority. We call on Congress to continue investing in maternal and child health and services, recognizing that it is critical during the 1,000-day window to deliver nutrition and support for women and infants. Access to proper nutrition and comprehensive maternal health services is a right for all women and families, and it is imperative to ensure that no one is left behind. Strong policies and investments in this critical window are not only about saving lives today but also about nurturing healthier generations.

        A strong start in life is every child’s right, and we are committed to working alongside partners, communities, and policymakers to create a world where all children can thrive. The CDC’s findings reinforce the urgency of our mission, and we stand ready to collaborate and advocate for the changes needed to ensure better outcomes for everyone.

        Together, we can strive for a future where infant mortality is a rare and unacceptable tragedy. Join us in making a difference and securing a brighter future for the next generation.

        For more insights and information, please visit the CDC report here.

        1,000 Days Statement on Senate Finance Committee Paid Leave Hearing

        Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Paid Leave

        This week, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on paid leave, highlighting the critical need for family and medical paid leave and how our current patchwork of paid leave policies falls short of supporting all infants and families. It also confirmed the importance of paid leave for workers, businesses, and the country.

        While there have been some gains in paid family leave over the past five years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only about 1 in 4 employees (27 percent) in the private sector workforce have access to paid family leave. Access to paid family leave is lower among those receiving lower wages or working part-time. People of color also have less access to paid family leave than their white counterparts.

        This lack of paid family leave means parents are often forced to choose between taking time off from work to care for their young children and earning the income they need to support their families. It means that 1 in 4 women in America return to work just 2 weeks after giving birth, putting their health and that of their infant at risk. Policies that enable parents to spend time nurturing and caring for their babies—particularly in the early weeks after birth and for babies that are born pre-term, low birthweight or with illness—are critical to the healthy cognitive, social, and emotional development of children.

        We applaud state, local and business-level efforts to increase access to paid family leave, but it is not enough to address this public health crisis. We need a national paid family and medical leave program that is comprehensive and covers all workers, including small business employees and the self-employed. Paid leave is the biggest obstacle to working women in the U.S. in the 1,000-day window and can reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. Our 2020 qualitative paid leave report highlights real stories from families without access to paid leave and the detrimental impacts it had on their family, including their health and the health of their baby.

        We appreciate the Senate Finance Committee’s thoughtful attention to this issue. We call on Congress to take the next step, moving legislation to enact a comprehensive national paid leave policy that supports mothers and families and ensures children get the strongest start to life.

        World Food Day 2023 Highlights an Opportunity for the US to Lead on Preventing & Treating Malnutrition

        World Food Day 2023 looks similar to recent past food days as the world continues to grapple with high rates of food and nutrition insecurity due to long lasting impacts of the pandemic, climate shocks and stressors, conflict, and inflation. Although much attention has been paid to rising rates of malnutrition, unfortunately, in 2023, malnutrition continues to impact tens of millions of children around the world. New child malnutrition estimates from UNICEF released in May 2023 found that stunting impacted 22.3% or 148.1 million children under 5 globally and wasting threatened the lives of 6.8%, or 45 million children under 5 globally.

        To meet the Sustainable Development Goals related to food security and nutrition, targeted interventions and significant investments must be made to reverse the current malnutrition trends and speed up progress. Due to the compounding crises impacting malnutrition, it is estimated that to stay on track with reaching global nutrition targets, at least $10.8 billion each year from 2022 to 2030 is needed.

        A new study published just last week in The Lancet shows how dire nutrition needs are, specifically within the 1,000-day window. These new data from WHO, UNICEF, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that 1 in 10 babies worldwide are born early, with major impacts on health, survival, and eventual economic impact. Since prematurity is the leading cause of death in children’s early years, there is an urgent need to strengthen prenatal care for mothers that protect both mom and baby, focus on malnutrition prevention in early life, and provide postpartum care that nurtures mom and supports breastfeeding.

        In addition to the efforts to treat malnutrition, further attention should be paid to prevention of malnutrition in the first place. Over the last year, USAID has not only released the implementation plan for the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (GMPTA), but also released a position paper on child wasting in June 2023 which outlined specific, actionable steps on how the USG will continue its investments and commitments to reduce and prevent malnutrition globally. Some of these steps include: strengthening nutrition as part of primary health care, building a better understanding of the specific pathways through which food systems can most effectively and efficiently prevent child wasting, improving access to RUTF for treatment and SNFs for prevention, supporting the development of sustainable financing strategies for health systems and the procurement of SNFs, and conducting joint cross-sectional and cross-bureau analyses and/or implementation research in nutrition priority countries.  

        Necessary investments would help to close the nutrition insecurity gaps seen in the most vulnerable populations, including women and children. Our advocacy community continues to seek additional monetary investments from the US Government to improve nutrition security. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of nearly half of all childhood deaths under 5, however, it only received under 1.5% of US global health funding in FY2023 while AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis collectively netted roughly 72%. For FY24 funding requests, our global nutrition advocacy community requested $300M for the nutrition sub-account which would save the lives of 30,303 children annually according to the World Bank’s Nutrition Investment Framework. Efforts to reduce funding for this account undermine progress made to address malnutrition and will put lives at risk.

        As Congress continues to draft FY24 appropriations bills ahead of the November 17th continuing resolution deadline, we urge them to protect and defend investments aimed at improving the health and nutrition of vulnerable populations, like women and children, particularly in the first 1,000 days. In addition, FY25 budgets and appropriations bill should include investments that both prioritize preventing and treating malnutrition. To accelerate progress on preventing and treating malnutrition, Congress and the US Government must solidify their role as a leader in putting health and nutrition first.

        Nutrition is a Feminist Issue

        Nutrition only featured in three of the 75+ sessions and events of the Women Deliver conference which brought over 6,0000 advocates, activists and decisionmakers to Kigali, Rwanda, last week. But what Women Deliver demonstrated is that nutrition is part of a much bigger framework, and an integral component of the feminist agenda. Here are three reasons why maternal nutrition is a feminist issue:

        1. The gender nutrition gap is real, widening, and solvable:  It is the political failure to meet the unique nutritional needs of women and girls and ensure their access to nutritious diets, nutrition services, and nutrition care. More than 1 billion adolescent girls and women worldwide suffer from undernutrition, including detrimental lifelong effects of the consequences of wasting and stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and anaemia, according to UNICEF’s Undernourished and Overlooked: A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women report. Malnourished mothers give birth to small and vulnerable newborns with immediate and long-term consequences for individual and societal development and growth. Today, approximately 20 million infants are born with low birthweight globally.  Cultural norms, social roles, economic disparities, and discriminatory practices create and sustain this gender nutrition gap. 1,000 Days was among 40+ organizations to launch Closing the Gender Nutrition Gap: An Action Agenda for Women and Girls. It aims to unite stakeholders in the nutrition, health and gender communities to take specific actions that improve women’s and girls’ nutrition while advancing maternal, newborn and child health and gender equality. The Action Agenda prioritizes actions for healthy diets, access to healthcare and social protection, gender equality and creating an enabling policy environment.
        • Adequate nutrition and breastfeeding are part of a woman’s right to bodily autonomy,  which UNFPA defines as  ‘the power and agency of individuals to make choices about their bodies without fear, violence or coercion’. While the concept is often used to advocate for reproductive justice, it goes beyond sexual and reproductive health and services and encompasses access to the wide range of care and services necessary to keep our bodies, minds and spirits healthy and whole – including nutrition – as per the Positive Women’s Network framework. UNFPA announced the Kigali Call to Action: United for Women and Girls’ Bodily Autonomy  for accelerated investments and actions, with women-led organizations and the feminist movement at the centre. Bodily autonomy is a strong platform to call for the right to breastfeed, as well as access to diverse and nutritious foods for all pregnant and lactating women, babies and toddlers. It is also a powerful aggregator to build a solidarity front against regressive forces. 
        • Maternal health is divisive and divided: As advocates calling attention on specific aspects of a woman’s health and wellbeing, we risk positioning women as a set of issues to be solved and competing for attention and space.  This does not only diminish our voice and reduce our impact, but it also leaves a vacuum for the opposition to fill, with clear, unified anti women’s rights messages.  Calling for reproductive justice, access to antenatal care, newborn and child health, respectful care, nutrition services, exclusive breastfeeding are not competing agendas, but all contribute to redressing the systemic inequalities that women face and that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Feminism, as a social justice movement, provides a larger and stronger platform to join forces and advance women’s nutrition, including nutrition for pregnant and lactating women.