New York, NY, March 6, 2025 — The Joint Statement on Child Wasting (March 2025) emphasizes the urgent need for action to combat child wasting, a severe form of malnutrition that affects 45 million children under five globally. While progress has been made, with 9.3 million children receiving life-saving treatment in 2023—a 27% increase from the previous year—wasting remains a persistent challenge. The document highlights the economic rationale for investing in nutrition, stating that for every $1 spent on addressing undernutrition, a $23 return can be expected, while malnutrition costs the global economy $2.1 trillion annually. The statement underscores the importance of the Nutrition for Growth Summit (N4G) as a platform for bold commitments to achieve the World Health Assembly’s target of reducing child wasting to below 5% by 2025.
The statement issues a call to action for governments, donors, and stakeholders to integrate child wasting interventions into national health and nutrition plans. It encourages increased funding, policy updates in line with WHO guidelines, and the strengthening of health and social protection systems. The document outlines specific recommendations, such as expanding social transfer programs for vulnerable women, enforcing breastfeeding protections, improving complementary feeding access, and integrating nutrition into climate-sensitive resilience strategies. The statement is endorsed by a coalition of international organizations, including UNICEF, WHO, WFP, and Save the Children, urging global leaders to take decisive steps at N4G 2025 to end child wasting and improve the well-being of millions of children worldwide.
Signatories of statement: Action Against Hunger, Concern Worldwide, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children, World Vision International (WVI), Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Gates Foundation, Government of Ireland, Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP)