UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

12/07/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/07/2021 14:46

UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore's remarks at the opening session of the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit

New York, 7 December 2021 - "Excellencies, distinguished partners, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of UNICEF, I extend my sincere thanks to the Government of Japan for hosting this important summit and for Japan's global leadership on nutrition.

"Progress in nutrition is possible and is happening at scale - since 2000, the world has reduced the proportion of children under the age of five suffering from stunting by one third. Yet despite this progress, one in three of the world's under-five children is malnourished and unable to grow, develop and learn to their full potential.

"UNICEF is committed to playing our role to accelerate progress for these children, and I am proud to announce our three commitments to N4G:

  1. Through our programmes in more than 130 countries, we aim to reach at least 500 million children, adolescents and women annually with policies and programs that support the delivery of diets, services, and practices to prevent malnutrition in all its forms. To deliver this, UNICEF will secure an investment of at least US$ 2.4 billion during 2022-2025.
  2. Through our No Time to Waste initiative, UNICEF will support over 30 high burden countries to reach at least 100 million children with policies and programmes for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of child wasting, including at least nine million children receiving timely therapeutic treatment annually by 2025.
  3. Finally, UNICEF commits to launch and lead the Global Alliance for Children's Diets in partnership with WHO. The Global Alliance will support public and private-sector actors to take full responsibility for their unique roles in transforming food systems to respond to the nutrition rights and needs of children.

"We cannot achieve this alone. More than ever, we count on the continued support of our partners, including the Government of Japan, as we continue to respond to the dire impact of COVID-19 on children's nutrition, development and wellbeing."