Global Nutrition in Focus: What the Global Nutrition Report Saw at UNGA80

As global needs rise and fiscal resources tighten, nutrition took centre stage across many conversations at this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80), where participating members of Global Nutrition Report’s governance emphasised that a world free from malnutrition requires integrated action, political leadership and accountability to turn commitments into progress.

Global action is urgently needed to address the most life-threatening form of child malnutrition

Wasting affects an estimated 42.8 million children worldwide, with conflicts, funding cuts and climate-related crises threatening to push millions more into acute malnutrition. More than 70% of this year’s Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit commitments targeted child wasting, reflecting clear global resolve to fight this most life-threatening form of malnutrition.

On 23 September, the Wasting Advocacy Coalition convened “Raising the Alarm: End Preventable Child Deaths from Wasting Now”, an urgent dialogue on the impact of global funding cuts and how to leverage UN reforms and cost-effective interventions. The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) proudly joined 30 organisations in this joint call for action on child wasting, led by the Wasting Advocacy Coalition and the Child Nutrition Cluster, which urged stronger global coordination to protect the most vulnerable.

During the event, Asma Lateef, Chief of Policy and Advocacy Impact at the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, cited the commitments tracked in the GNR’s Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF)—with two-thirds of commitments made at each of the N4G Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2025 Summits having a focus on wasting—as evidence that this issue remains a priority for governments. Paul Troy, Nutrition Policy Lead at Irish Aid and GNR Stakeholder Group member, joined a panel to share Ireland’s enduring commitment to nutrition and their €250 million annual investment towards improving malnutrition. They noted the relationship between drivers and the need to work across areas, such as food systems.

Co-organised by the SDG2 Advocacy Hub and World Vision with support from the government of Ireland, the “High-Level Ministerial Breakfast Meeting for Food and Nutrition Champions to advance SDG2 and end Global Hunger and Child Malnutrition” brought together high-level ministers and partners from around the world to reaffirm their commitment to collective action to address child malnutrition and to end the cycle of food crises.

Integrated solutions are essential

Nutrition is at the heart of global health and development. At the “Nourishing the Goals” event—hosted by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Stronger Foundations for Nutrition, the Micronutrient Forum and the Anaemia Action Alliance, with support from Kirk Humanitarian and the Aga Khan Foundation—participants called for breaking down healthcare silos and increasing access to several high-impact interventions. These interventions— including multiple micronutrient supplementation, food fortification, immunisation and malaria prevention—drive progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including those on hunger and health.

Moderating a panel discussion, Afshan Khan—Assistant Secretary General of the UN, Coordinator of the SUN Movement and Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group member—underscored how the shrinking fiscal landscape for global assistance requires a careful accounting of every dollar spent and highlighted the importance of accountability mechanisms, like the Global Nutrition Report’s close tracking of the N4G commitments.

This is in reference to the Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF)—an independent platform for registering and tracking SMART nutrition commitments. The GNR timed the release of the 2025 update of data on the NAF Commitment Tracker with UNGA 80, providing transparent data to inspire commitment makers, advocates and policymakers to turn promises into progress.

After detailing the impact of aid cuts on the nutrition community, panelist Dr Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director of the Micronutrient Initiative and GNR Independent Expert Group member, added that integration across health and other development sectors remains incomplete, particularly approaches to improving food systems where solutions like strengthening climate-smart indigenous foods would benefit both climate and nutrition.

A separate event continued the connection between integrated solutions for climate and nutrition. At “Food Day 2025: Protein Diversification and Novel Proteins”, Greg Garrett, Executive Director of the Access to Nutrition initiative and GNR Stakeholder Group member, spoke about the role alternative proteins play in building more resilient food systems. While 43% of the commitments made at the N4G Summit this year focus on sustainable, climate-smart and resilient food systems, only two commitments target increasing consumption of plant proteins, suggesting alternative proteins remain an underutilised cross-cutting solution.

Political prioritisation of NCDs must lead to action

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were in the spotlight, as the UN put forth a new political declaration on addressing NCDs at their high-level meeting held on 24 September, a clear sign of growing political interest in addressing the global NCD burden. Addressing malnutrition in all its forms is essential to the fight against NCDs. Since 2021, nutrition commitments related to NCDs have held steady. Of this year’s N4G commitments, 263 of nearly 600 commitments targeted diet-related NCDs, with 40% of all commitments aiming to address obesity, 32% adult diabetes, 31% raised blood pressure and 28% salt intake. To achieve lasting results, political will must be matched by measurable progress on nutrition and health outcomes.

Accountability for commitments drives progress

As the global nutrition landscape continues to evolve, follow-through will determine success. Governments, donors, civil society and the private sector all share responsibility for ensuring that nutrition is on the dias at moments like UNGA, and that nutrition commitments lead to measurable results.

Amid shifting global priorities, accountability provides the foundation for sustaining nutrition gains. By working together and holding ourselves to account, we can transform the ideas put forth at UNGA 80 and commitments from N4G into tangible results for people everywhere.