International: ‘Courageous’ Nutrition Barometer launched at the U.N. General Assembly in New York

This morning, World Vision and Save the Children launched the Nutrition Barometer to a packed venue at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The launch event, co-hosted by World Vision International President and CEO Kevin Jenkins and Save the Children Chief Executive Jasmine Whitbread, featured a panel of nutrition experts, who spoke of the importance of the Barometer for tackling this silent killer of children.

The Nutrition Barometer assesses governments’ political, legal and financial commitments to tackling malnutrition in the 36 countries where 90% of the world’s undernourished children live. Almost a quarter of these countries have shown little progress in tackling this silent crisis. In 2011 alone, undernutrition was responsible for the deaths of 2.3 million children under five.

The Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General for Food Security and Nutrition, David Nabarro, began by calling the Nutrition Barometer an exciting and courageous report. The Barometer is courageous, he explained, as many of the 36 high-burden countries featured will not be enamoured with the findings. But as he described, it’s an important tool for helping governments improve the nutrition status of vulnerable children.

Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, Ertharin Cousin, also addressed the packed room by explaining nutrition is central to achieving Millennium Development Goal Four – reducing child mortality. She continued, saying there is now an acceptance that long-term food security requires investment in sustainable agriculture, alongside nutrition education. “Heads of the UN agencies are committed to working together to address issues of chronic malnutrition.” 

Director General of Irish Aid Brendan Rogers spoke, pinpointing the Irish Presidency of the European Union in 2013 as key forum for progress, and an opportunity to transform commitments into tangible outcomes for countries mentioned in the World Vision-Save the Children report.

Prof. Nila Moeloek, Special Envoy on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the President of Indonesia, explained the challenges faced in her country, but also the innovations and initiatives that are happening to improve nutrition. 

World Vision Kenya’s nutrition lead, Rose Ndolo, highlighted the importance of civil society in supporting governments’ efforts to improve nutrition, whether through advocacy activities, monitoring progress, or sharing best practices. Critically, she explained governments must put their money where their mouth is – delivering on their promises through increased investment. 

This event and the launch of the Barometer sets the tone for 2013 – particularly with the EU and G8 presidencies – outlining opportunities for leaders to act on nutrition. The first step on this path will be high-level meetings on the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement this week at the General Assembly in New York.