As defined by WHO, malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition addresses three broad forms of the condition:

• Undernutrition, which includes wasting (low weight-for-height), stunting (low height-for-age) and underweight (low weight-for-age)
• Micronutrient-related malnutrition, which includes inadequate intake of important vitamins and minerals or micronutrient excess
• Overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers

Malnutrition is a universal issue that affects every country in the world. Despite primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries, high-income countries are also experiencing higher rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. In 2022, 390 million adults were underweight, while 2.5 billion were overweight.

Women, infants, children and adolescents are at particular risk of malnutrition. Optimizing nutrition in pregnancy and early life – including the 1000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday – ensures the best possible start to a healthy life, with long-term benefits.

Older people are also more likely to be malnourished, due to their enhanced risk of underlying health problems, cognitive decline, changes to the way our bodies absorb nutrients in later age, or social risk factors such as isolation and loneliness, in particular in high income countries.

Combating malnutrition in all its forms is a critical building block for any country’s human, societal and economic development. Good nutrition is the cornerstone of child optimal cognitive and physical development, and of healthy and productive lives, enabling people everywhere to reach their full potential. Well-nourished children are 19% more likely to read proficiently, 20% more likely to earn higher incomes in later life and 33% more likely to escape poverty as an adult.

While trends of the fight against malnutrition are encouraging, expected reduction rates need to be accelerated for all nutrition targets to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nutrition relates directly to the achievement of SDG 2 (zero hunger) and 3 (good health and well-being) and is linked to 11 out of 17 SDGs. Strategic investments in nutrition fuel economic growth, reduce inequalities, and amplify the impact of other development initiatives. Nutrition interventions are a powerful lever of development and can deliver a double dividend when combined with health, education, social protection, food systems transformation, climate actions and water and sanitation (WASH) programmes. For example, providing nutritious school meals increases attendance by 8% and enrolment by 9%, while improving learning outcomes.

Nutrition interventions deliver exceptional returns, with every $1 invested unlocking $23 in economic benefits in average, reaching up to $53^[2].

Today, global threats including climate change, economic and political instability, and the increasing frequency of conflicts threaten progress more than ever before. Rising temperatures, carbon emissions and extreme weather are disrupting food production, reducing crop yields and nutrient concentrations. Meanwhile, the increasing volume and intensity of conflicts around the world is further disrupting supply chains and fuelling food insecurity.

As the United Nations decade for action on nutrition concludes, we find ourselves at a critical moment for action. With just five years to achieve the 2030 SDGs, now is the time for global leaders to embrace a new vision for nutrition and sustainable development and place nutrition as the core of development.

At present, there is a $13 billion annual shortfall in nutrition – and while the cost of inaction is high^[3] -. Yet, spending on high-impact life-saving nutrition investments account for less 1% of global development assistance. The latest estimates from the World Bank suggest failing to address the global nutrition crisis will cost the global economy $41 trillion over the next decade. 

Previous N4G summits have successfully mobilized substantial financial commitments to tackle malnutrition globally.

These contributions have helped countries, donors, the private sector, and civil society find new and innovative ways to drive progress in nutrition globally – visit our website to draw inspiration from some of the many successes that have been achieved over the last decade.

Stakeholders including national governments, philanthropies, the private sector, the civil society, international organisations and research institutions are stepping up to find innovative ways to mobilize new financial and policy commitments for nutrition and to ensure greater accountability in the decade ahead.

The N4G Paris Summit’s accountability and tracking builds on the legacy of Tokyo and therefore rely on the existing Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF) adopted at Tokyo for commitment registration, accounting and tracking (the N4G Commitment Guide for further information). The NAF, managed by the Global Nutrition Report (GNR), is a global good for nutrition accountability beyond the sole N4G Summits. The NAF can be accessed directly via the GNR website or with the N4G Commitment Guide.
The NAF platform is used to register, validate and therefore properly account for N4G Paris commitments. Registration allows stakeholders to commit to compliance with the eligibility criteria of the N4G Paris Commitment Guide and triggers a process of screening of commitments. Further checks are undertaken by the GNR upon registration of commitments, in particular for compliance with the SMART principles.

Stakeholders’ commitments not complying with the eligibility criteria cannot be included in N4G Paris or counted as such.

If you have not yet registered as a user, you can do so at the following link here for registering N4G Paris commitments.

Illustration of commitments that N4G Paris wishes to encourage are provided in the Commitment Guide, and are further detailed in the thematic recommendations provided along the 6 themes, core and cross-cutting ones. However, for examples of SMART formulated commitments, stakeholders are encouraged to consult directly the NAF search engine.

Yes, commitments registered in the NAF from that date will be counted for N4G Paris.

Partners and individuals can connect with N4G on X and join the conversation across all social media platforms using #N4GParis.

Partners are also encouraged to refer to the N4G stakeholder toolkit for further details on how to get involved.

The commitments can be announced in the press conference room and displayed on screens in the ministerial conference centre and in the Village of Solutions for Nutrition. Commitments makers announcing commitments will have to ensure their registration into the NAF platform to be accounted as of N4G Paris.

Given the number of participants, individual announcements of commitments will not be made during the plenary session.

Please visit the 2025 Summit page on our website for the latest information on the N4G Paris programme and speakers.

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