Today marks the launch of the 2020 Global Nutrition Report (GNR), the world’s leading independent assessment of the state of global nutrition. The report aims to inspire governments, civil society and private stakeholders to act to end malnutrition in all its forms. It also plays an important role of helping hold stakeholders to account on the commitments they have made towards tackling malnutrition.
Jody Harris and Nicholas Nisbett, together with Phillip Baker of Deakin University, Australia, were authors of the framing chapter of this year’s Global Nutrition Report, which focuses on equity and different forms of malnutrition as a means of understanding what leaving no-one behind means for nutrition, in practice.
Today’s report highlights that most countries in the world must now be equipped to fight both sides of malnutrition at the same time. One in nine people are still hungry or undernourished, while 149 million children under 5 years of age are still affected by stunting globally. Meanwhile, our world has transitioned to one in which more people of all ages are obese than underweight, with one in three people either overweight or obese.
Despite these figures, countries are often unprepared to face the global nutrition crisis. Financial commitments also don’t match the scale and nature of the issue: increases in domestic resources for nutrition have been marginal at best, and obesity and overweight have been largely ignored in aid allocations.
The findings of the report are timely: Covid-19 has exposed the fragility of food and health systems, disproportionately impacting already vulnerable populations. Malnutrition affects our immune system, leaving us more susceptible to infection, and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic could in turn drive malnutrition globally. As we look to reinforce our resilience to global stresses, nutrition must become a key component of any emergency or long term response.
The GNR was established in 2014 following the first Nutrition for Growth summit, as an accountability mechanism to track progress against global nutrition targets and the commitments made to reach them. Through a comprehensive report, interactive Country Nutrition Profiles and Nutrition for Growth Commitment Tracking, the GNR sheds light on the burden of malnutrition and highlights progress and working solutions to tackle malnutrition around the world.
This year’s focus on equity gives a better sense than ever of who is being left behind in terms of malnutrition and why we need to pay attention not only to nutritional inequities, but associated inequities in wealth, gender, ethnicity, disability and so on. A focus on inequity in nutrition is particularly important as new understandings of malnutrition (such as obesity) combine with older (such as undernutrition or micro-nutrient deficiencies) and form the basis of vulnerability to illness, disease, and further forms of poverty.
The 2020 GNR report, including the framing chapter written by Jody Harris and Nicholas Nisbett is available to download now.
Together with the Indian Nutrition Initiative, an initiative of Tata Trusts, the online global launch of the 2020 GNR.Takes place Tuesday 12th May at 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm (BST) / 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm (IST) / 8:00 am – 9:15 am (EDT).
Key contacts
