'We need to protect food aid budgets', warns Devon MP
Malnutrition remains the leading worldwide cause of death for children aged under five
The Devon MP - who helps chair the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nutrition has been speaking at a summit in Paris to call for funds to be protected.
Exeter's Steve Race is working with other countries to look at foreign aid investment as one billion people cannot currently afford a healthy diet worldwide - and malnutrition remains the leading cause of death of children aged under five.
Speaking from Paris, he said: "Good nutrition is foundational to individual and global development.
"The UK Government and its partners’ commitments at N4G could improve the health, development, and earning capability of millions worldwide, especially women and children. Elevating nutrition on the international development agenda at N4G and beyond will accelerate much-needed progress toward shared global goals.”
A spokesperson for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nutrition for Development said: "As the UK's foreign aid budget diminishes, Parliamentarians are urging the UK Government to take a strong pledge at the summit to invest foreign aid strategically and protect spending on nutrition.
"Three billion people cannot currently afford a healthy diet, and malnutrition is the leading cause of death of children under five, causing instability and violence to fester. Malnutrition has a destabilising effect that’s consequences spread beyond borders; according to the World Food Programme, for every 1% increase in food insecurity, there is a 2% rise in migration.
"Malnutrition is preventable and treatable yet kills more than two million children a year and leaves survivors with impaired physical and mental development, damaging entire economies and global security. Investments in nutrition are low-cost and high-impact representing one of the highest-value development initiatives. For every US$1 invested in nutrition, US$16 is returned to the local economy. By protecting spending on nutrition, lives will be directly saved, reducing inequality and improving global prosperity, peace, and security say Parliamentarians.
"The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nutrition for Development is calling on the UK to invest at least £500 million in nutrition-specific interventions by 2030. The group is urging the UK government to begin this journey by investing £50 million into the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) this year. This would give the government the opportunity to maximise its investment by leveraging domestic resources and philanthropic funding, with the potential to transform a £50 million UK contribution into up to £500 million of impact, maximising our contribution at a time of fiscal constraint.
Lord Jonny Oates, CEO of United Against Malnutrition & Hunger, added: “A strong international nutrition budget is essential to a secure, and stable world, and reduces the need for defence interventions.
"Global hunger is of huge geopolitical importance and has soared in recent years. The UK decision to cut ODA to 0.3% of GNI is shortsighted and deeply damaging to our national security. It means that spiralling global malnutrition will go unchecked with huge economic and geopolitical consequences. I urge the Government to reverse this damaging decision.”