NEW YORK, January 12, 2023 — In response to five United Nations agencies announcing their re-commitment to the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting, IRC has issued the following statement:
“The IRC welcomes the UN agencies’ ongoing commitment to the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting and its specific focus on humanitarian contexts and displaced populations. We share the conviction that supporting concrete, evidence-based, country-led action plans is critical to reaching every child in need with lifesaving treatment. This commitment is particularly important as we start a new year in which hunger is soaring globally and up to 60 million children face acute malnutrition.
"The Call to Action and recent mobilization of funds led by UNICEF and the US offer a new and urgent opportunity to reform the bifurcated and overly complex treatment system that reaches just 20% of children in need. We are highly encouraged that these UN agencies have identified 'the early detection and treatment of child wasting for children… through community-based programmes and simplified approaches' as a priority intervention.
"The IRC is proud to join 12 peer organizations in laying out recommendations to maximize the impact and efficiencies of investments in wasting treatment. In a letter to USAID Administrator Samantha Power, our coalition outlined five actions to help close the wasting treatment gap, reinforcing the potential impact of several of the Call to Actions’s priority interventions: (1) encourage a follow-up, joint UN statement on the safety and efficacy of evidence-based simplified treatment approaches; (2) support countries in adopting treatment approaches best suited to their contexts; (3) strengthen the RUTF supply chain to meet the needs of national action plans; (4) urge donors to build on the momentous $577 million pledged at UNGA 2022; and (5) commit to a system of mutual accountability for progress. These recommendations, which require coordinated action by UN agencies and donors, have already received widespread support, including from UNICEF and leading members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Evidence and experience show us the path to reaching every child with treatment. We have proven innovations that can help overcome the status quo. We at the IRC remain committed to working with UN colleagues, governments, and civil society partners to leverage all tools to ensure that every child with acute malnutrition can get the care they desperately need to survive and lead long, healthy lives.”