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Photo: Malawi, Concern Worldwide
HUNGER FACTS
- Every year, malnutrition during the first 1,000 days causes irreversible physical and mental stunting in one of every three children worldwide.
- 925 million people do not have enough to eat and 98 percent of them live in developing countries.
- Women make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world's hungry.
- One out of four children in developing countries is underweight.
The international meeting highlighted the role civil society organizations could play in supporting efforts to scale up nutrition globally, and urged G-20 leaders to prioritize the funding of nutrition in high-burden countries, particularly during the crucial 1,000 days from pregnancy to age two.
“The stakes are enormous,” said Tom Arnold, CEO of Concern Worldwide, which co-hosted the meeting along with Bread for the World. “Now that the international nutrition community has accumulated extensive evidence concerning the burden, consequences and effective interventions related to undernutrition, the time to act is now.” Speaking ahead of the event, he added: “Meeting participants will urge G-20 leaders, who meet this fall, to fund nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive initiatives across a range of sectors.”
STRONG COMMITMENT FROM GLOBAL LEADERS
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the June gathering via video, as will the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, and Melinda French Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Keynote speakers will include: The World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick; U.S. Under Secretary of State Maria Otero; U.N. Special Representative for Food Security and Nutrition David Nabarro; Irish Special Envoy for Hunger Kevin Farrell and Mark Bittman, The New York Times food journalist and author. Ray Suarez of the PBS NewsHour served as the moderator.
In September 2010, on the occasion of the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and then Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin launched the 1,000 Days: Change a Life, Change the Future Call to Action to draw attention to the irreversible impact of maternal and child undernutrition during the critical 1,000-day window of opportunity from pregnancy to age two, and the priority actions needed to scale up nutrition. At the event, Concern Worldwide CEO Tom Arnold and David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, committed to convening a follow-up meeting of 1,000 Days/Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) stakeholders in June 2011.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING
Build political commitment and energy to help solve the problem of maternal and child malnutrition. We hope this meeting bolsters and reinvigorates champions of this issue and draws in new champions.
- Assess the progress in scaling up nutrition programs at the country level. This assessment will identify the challenges and gaps that need to be addressed as well as the extent of civil society engagement.
- Agree to a shared advocacy agenda and strategy for the September 2011 U.N. General Assembly follow-up and the G-20 Summit
This will focus on encouraging global leaders to commit the additional resources needed to scale up nutrition programs.
- Strengthen the voice of civil society in this global effort
At the end of the international meeting, we hope to frame a consensus statement or declaration that will help enhance the role of civil society in the fight against undernutrition.
The Moment Is Now: Civil Society Statement on Scaling Up Nutrition
A critical outcome of the international gathering was the global declaration endorsed by 58 civil society organizations, The Moment Is Now: Civil Society Statement on Scaling Up Nutrition, released on September 19, 2011 to coincide with the UN General Assembly meetings in New York. With the aim of strengthening collective action, the civil society signatories committed to working together to support, encourage and mobilize robust action and necessary resources to scale up nutrition. The consensus statement is being disseminated to key global stakeholders urging governments, private institutions and non-governmental organizations to join the fight against hunger.
 CONCERN IN ACTION: FIGHTING HUNGER
Since our founding in 1968 in response to the famine in Biafra, Nigeria, Concern has pursued its mission to help people living in absolute poverty achieve major, sustainable improvements in their lives. Now, 43 years later, Concern remains steadfastly committed to working with the world’s poorest people to transform their lives. Hunger is often the most visible manifestation of extreme poverty, and in the midst of increasingly volatile food price increases and natural disasters, Concern is more determined than ever before to empower the poorest to effectively produce and manage their own food supplies, and to eradicate malnutrition and child hunger and their root causes. To learn more about Concern’s work to tackle hunger, download the PDF: The Time Is Now: Improving Food Security and Nutrition for the Poorest
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