On 27 and 28 March 2025, France will host the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, a major international event highlighting the importance of fighting against malnutrition. GRET will be actively participating in the event. With a conference at the Civil society Pavilion, a stand and a photo exhibition at the Village of Solutions for Nutrition, and its official presence at the Summit, GRET will alert attendees to the importance of working to prevent malnutrition and the urgent need for dedicated funding. It will also share its longstanding experience of working with local partners from the public, private, associative and research sectors, to implement sustainable solutions.
Fighting effectively against malnutrition is possible!
Preventing malnutrition is key
149 million children under the age of 5 across the world suffer from delayed growth due to malnutrition. Malnutrition leads to consequences that are often invisible but irreversible for children’s physical and cognitive development, impacting their long-term health and their capacity to fully participate in the economic and social development of their country. And yet, this dramatic situation can be avoided if preventive actions are conducted at the right time.
Currently, specific actions to fight against malnutrition focus solely on the treatment of acutely malnourished children (45 million children under the age of 5) and neglect prevention for all children at risk of chronic or acute malnutrition, or obesity.
For GRET, it is vital to take a preventive approach that benefits children more broadly and is less costly over the long term. Research shows that the first 1,000 days of life, from early pregnancy to the child’s second birthday, are particularly critical. It is necessary to work on the diets, hygiene and care of pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children to break intergenerational transmission of malnutrition, thereby removing a major obstacle to the development of societies.
An integrated, coordinated approach to tackle the direct causes of malnutrition
Today, the majority of funding allocated to nutrition is diluted in health or agriculture programmes, with no integrated, coordinated approach to work simultaneously on the direct causes of malnutrition: inappropriate diet and inadequate access to hygiene, or curative and preventive treatment.
To act effectively, it is crucial to roll out programmes with priority focus on nutrition, working in stakeholder coalitions to fight against the different forms of malnutrition by tackling their immediate and underlying causes, and adapting to local realities.
- See all of our recommendations to contribute effectively to the fight against malnutrition: Investing in prevention to end malnutrition | Gret
GRET’s participation in N4G
To convey all these messages, share its experiences and those of its partner, GRET is holding several events.
Conference: Working in stakeholder coalitions to prevent all forms of malnutrition
On 24 March, in partnership with IRD and UNICEF, GRET held a conference at the Civil society Pavilion bringing together experts from the public, private and research sectors. They shared their experiences of working in local stakeholder coalitions to prevent malnutrition sustainably.
- GRET is also joining with civil society organisations in a call for strong commitments from the international community to fight against food and nutrition insecurity.
Meet GRET and its partners at the Village of solutions for nutrition
From 26 to 28 March, the Village of solutions for nutrition, a space for multi-stakeholder dialogue, will open its doors in the Parc André-Citroën in Paris, alongside the Summit. GRET will be hosting a stand together with Nutri’zaza (Madagascar) and the Laitière du Sahel (Niger), two social businesses that produce and market locally produced, affordable, quality fortified foods that meet the nutritional needs of women and young children. Together, they will show that partnership with the local private sector makes it possible to define innovative solutions to prevent malnutrition sustainably.
- Free participation, registration necessary
Numerous events will be organised at the stand: role plays, tasting of products, recreational workshop…
GRET will also be speaking at a round table on food security, which will take place from 10.30 am to 11.45 am on Wednesday 26 March, on the main stage at the Village of solutions. Justine Scholle, project manager at GRET, will be speaking along with the Hauts-de-Seine Departmental Council, to highlight a project in Cambodia.
“Feeding future generations”: a photo exhibition on maternal and child nutrition
At the request of the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the World Food Programme, GRET produced a photo exhibition retracing the actions of the two organisations, supported by France, to promote maternal and child nutrition. The exhibition will be inaugurated at the opening of the Village of solutions for nutrition in the Parc André-Citroën, on 26 March at 9 am. It will remain open to the public for two months.
Official attendance at the Summit
GRET will also be present at the Summit, represented by its Executive director, Luc Arnaud.
To learn more, see all GRET’s resources on nutrition:
Programmes and projects:
- The Meriem project
- The Nutridev Programme for the prevention of malnutrition
- Technical assistance to support the first steps of a social business: Nutri’zaza in Madagascar (Project booklet)
- Strengthening consumption of fortified foods to fight against malnutrition: Feedback from the experiences of the Food fortification programme for vulnerable populations in Madagascar (Project booklet)
Study:
Position papers:
