the economic case for investing in nutrition
TRANSCRIPT
© 2014 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR NUTRITIONShawn Baker, Director, Nutrition
23 May 2016
Nutrition is an investment we
must all make to give every
woman and child the opportunity to
survive and thrive.
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Snapshot of annual GDP (%) loss due to malnutrition: Ethiopia 16.5% Rwanda 11.5% Malawi 10.3% Burkina Faso 7.7% Ghana 6.3% Uganda 5.6% Swaziland 3.1%
THE COST OF NOT INVESTING IN NUTRITIONAssessing the consequences
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AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTUREAssessing returns
A 40% decrease in stunting by
2025…
Could add $83 billion
to national incomes.
GLOBAL TARGETSWorld Health Assembly Global Nutrition Targets 2025
TARGET: 40% reduction in the number of children under-5 who are stunted
Stunting
AnemiaTARGET: 50% reduction of anemia in women of reproductive age
Low birth weight TARGET: 30% reduction in
low birth weightTARGET: Reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5% from 8% by 2025
Wasting
BreastfeedingTARGET: Increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding the first 6 months up to at least 50%
OverweightTARGET: No increase in childhood overweight
The Malabo Declaration
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In 2014, Heads of State and Government agreed to improve nutrition
and eliminate undernutrition in Africa by committing to
Reduce stunting to 10% by 2025
Reduce underweight to 5% by 2025
AFRICAN COMMITMENTS
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MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD THE TARGETSWhat will it take in Sub-Saharan Africa?
ANEMIA
WASTING
BREASTFEEDINGSTUNTING
ANEMIA
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Vitamin A supplementation Promotion of good infant and young child nutrition and hygiene practices Multiple micronutrient supplementation in pregnancy Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria for pregnant women Treatment of severe acute malnutrition Iron folic-acid supplementation Food fortification (wheat and maize flour) Pro-breastfeeding social policies National breastfeeding promotion campaign
INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK FOR ACTIONHighly cost-effective package of interventions
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These action much be combined with efforts across sectors to:• Protect and promote nutrition gains to date.• Continue investment in relevant areas (i.e. WASH, agriculture, MNCH)
FINANCING THE INVESTMENTTaking action
Because progress is possibleINVEST IN NUTRITION NOW
Because of leadership from the government and private sector, across ECOWAS nations, approximately 84% of people have access to micronutrient fortified wheat flour; 74% have access to vitamin A fortified vegetable oil.
The government of Tanzania implemented a 5-year National Nutrition Strategy and has seen stunting fall from 42% to 35%.
In Rwanda, nearly 85% of children are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.
In South Africa, fortifying wheat and corn flour with folate contributed to a more than 30% decline in birth defects of the brain, spine, and spinal cord.
#InvestinNutrition