Nutrition and the SDGs

A blog post on ELDIS considers how the current draft of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shape up with respect to nutrition. Asma Lateef, Director of Bread for the World Institute with Jennifer Thompson and Joanna Francis of Concern, members of the International Coalition on Advocating Nutrition (ICAN), share their concerns. They argue that target to "end malnutrition in all its forms" in the final draft post-2015 SDGs reflects a sea-change since the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) following the Millennium summit in 2000. They argue that international community now understands and is responding to the evidence about the devastating personal and societal costs of undernutrition.

Under Goal 2 of the proposed SDGs, to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, target 2.2 is “By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons”. Including two out of the six World Health Assembly (WHA) Nutrition Targets reflects growing consensus and political support. 

The SDGs and targets are an important step in the right direction for nutrition. They stop short however of including all six of the WHA targets—risking a focus on only part of the full set of internationally agreed actions needed to sustainably ensure maternal and child nutrition. The blog post argues that it is imperative that the international community as well as national level governments remain focused and step up their efforts over the next year, ensuring the new development framework truly sets us on the course to end malnutrition.