Overview
Strong nutrition can save lives, and it has a ripple effect across communities, unlocking better health and education outcomes as well as strengthening economic prosperity. Pregnant mothers who have the right nutrition are more likely to give birth to healthy children. Children who attend school without hunger are more likely to learn and succeed. For every US$1 invested in nutrition services, an average of US$23 is returned to society. The global cost of inaction is roughly US$41 trillion over ten years (The World Bank, 2024).
There is currently a multi-billion dollar financing gap for nutrition (Investment Framework for Nutrition, 2024), and this cannot be closed with philanthropic capital alone. A more sustainable approach is to work with partners and countries around the world to help unlock nutrition financing towards a world where child malnutrition no longer exists.
Reaching children and families for the first time with immunisation is the most challenging – and most rewarding – aspect of our work. So often, when we work in remote, fragile and conflict-affected communities we are not only protecting children from diseases but also creating an opening for their families to benefit from other vital nutritional and health interventions. We are grateful for our partnership with CIFF, which makes this work possible and continues to inspire us to reach every child.
Securing sustainable financing for nutrition:
the Child Nutrition Fund
Poor nutrition remains one of the leading causes of child mortality worldwide. While proven, cost-effective nutrition interventions exist, many countries, particularly those with the highest burden, face persistent financing gaps, fragmented delivery platforms and weak nutrition supply chains. The Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) was established to address these challenges by crowding in new financing, strengthening country ownership, and accelerating delivery of lifesaving nutrition services at scale. By 2025, the CNF:
• Secured US$939 million in commitments,
• Supported 45 countries,
• Advanced multi-year country partnerships with 6 governments.
Through the match window, the CNF leveraged domestic financing in 18 high-burden countries for nutrition commodities. Anchored within UNICEF, and with catalytic support from CIFF, the CNF helps unlock sustainable financing to tackle poor nutrition at scale worldwide.
CNF’s multi-year partnerships allow for improved coordination and alignment with national government priorities, not only unlocking domestic resources but also ensuring active partnership in planning and delivery of services.
In Benin, for example, the CNF is working with the national government to turn political commitment into sustained action by strengthening domestic financing for nutrition at national scale. Anchored in the government’s First 1,000 Days agenda, the multi-year partnership framework is gradually increasing investment in high-impact nutrition services while embedding stronger budget tracking, accountability, and expenditure monitoring within government systems. The CNF support is aligned with national priorities, and laying the foundations for long-term sustainability.
Photo Credit: © UNICEF / UN0740372 / Ifansasti
Innovation and integration of nutrition and immunisation delivery in Ethiopia
Integration enables governments to deliver holistic, effective programmes that help address complex and interconnected challenges. In health and nutrition, multiple mutually reinforcing factors keep children trapped in cycles of poverty and ill-health. By combining services, delivery becomes more time and cost-efficient, and significantly more impactful. The Government of Ethiopia has led these efforts, with implementation support from CIFF, the CNF and Gavi, to support integrated delivery of nutrition, immunisation and social protection.
In 2025, over 700,000 children were screened for acute malnutrition, with those identified with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) referred for treatment. Through integrated outreach, more than 25,000 children aged 6–23 months received small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) to prevent wasting. At the same time, approximately 80,000 zero-dose and 100,000 under-vaccinated children received essential vaccinations. In parallel, more than 200,000 children without birth certificates were newly registered, ensuring access to vital entitlements and social protection systems.
These achievements highlight the critical role of strong government leadership in implementing such programmes as well as the importance of effective collaboration with international partners. Through these innovative partnerships, we can forge incredible progress towards the SDGs and strengthen a whole-child, whole-community approach to improving the lives of children.
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Photo Credit: © UNICEF/UNI538546/Mukut
Strengthening the supply of life saving nutrition products: global access to Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS)
Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) are a cost-effective intervention to improve maternal nutrition and reduce risks of low birth weight and preterm birth. CIFF is working to increase access to MMS through the CNF with UNICEF and other partners. Through this work, we are collectively working to improve product standards, supply chains and quality of MMS delivery at country level across both public and private sectors.
In Bangladesh, the route to integration of MMS in its healthcare system has been through a large-scale market based model, through public-private partnership – this is because Bangladesh has a dense network of retail pharmacies across the country, which are the preferred first point of contact for most of the population and a familiar place in community life. Last year in Bangladesh, it was reported that more than 100 million locally produced MMS tablets had been sold since the product launched in 2021, reaching an estimated 15% of annual pregnancies nationwide. This achievement has been driven by strong local production and supply chains, demand among pregnant women, integration within a community-based antenatal care model, and national leadership.
In Indonesia last year, an MMS hub was set up and fully operational with approximately 10 million MMS tablets procured from the hub for regional distribution. Similarly, in South Africa a regional manufacturing hub for MMS has been established for the Africa region – adding 1 billion tablets to the annual supply capacity therefore creating a shorter, more resilient supply chain for the continent.
All of our work to help break the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition globally is aligned with the 2030 SDGs. With 5 years remaining, 2025 demonstrated that progress in nutrition financing, innovation and commodity access is not only possible, but already happening. Nutrition initiatives are rolling out at scale to communities around the world, particularly those most burdened by limited nutrition access, leading to healthier children and healthier societies.
Addressing malnutrition requires urgent, proactive collaboration from a range of cross-sectoral partners. Together we can continue to make progress towards lasting solutions and a world where every child is well nourished and able to flourish.
