the economic case for investing in nutrition

© 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.

© Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 3

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


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


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.

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the economic case for investing in nutrition

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