Ireland commits €64 million to accelerate action on child wasting

The Government of Ireland is strengthening its partnership with UNICEF, through the UNICEF-led Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), with €64 million in funding over the next four years to expand efforts to prevent and treat wasting.

Announced by Taoiseach Micheál Martin during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the commitment renews a collaboration between Ireland and UNICEF that began in 2023 and supports the implementation of the UN Global Action Plan on Child Wasting. Over the next four years, the programme will expand from three to five countries – the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Child wasting is the most visible and life-threatening form of undernutrition. Globally, an estimated 42.8 million children under five affected by wasting at any given time, including 12.2 million suffering from severe wasting, the deadliest form of undernutrition.

The renewed investment will continue supporting an integrated approach that combines prevention, early detection and treatment interventions for children through stronger health, nutrition and social protection systems. This reflects growing recognition that sustained progress requires action on both the immediate and underlying causes of wasting.

Over the four-year period, the partnership aims to:

• Expand access to wasting prevention services for children in vulnerable contexts, while strengthening early detection and treatment for all children affected by wasting through community-based platforms and multisectoral services.
• Improve nutrition for women and children through better access to maternal nutrition services, micronutrient supplementation, infant and young child feeding support, and counselling on healthy diets and feeding practices.
• Strengthen nutrition-responsive social protection, connecting vulnerable families with cash assistance and key nutrition services that can help address the drivers of undernutrition and reduce risk of relapse.
• Strengthen national systems, service delivery and policies, helping governments improve nutrition policies in close collaboration with UNICEF and the World Health Organization. 

The new commitment builds on significant results achieved during the first three years of the partnership with approximately 3 million children screened for wasting, and over 120,000 receiving life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition.

• In DRC, more than 410,000 children were screened for wasting, over 24,000 received treatment for severe wasting, and nearly 70,000 pregnant women received micronutrient supplementation, while over 10,000 households benefited from cash transfers. 
• In Madagascar, more than 651,000 children were screened, over 57,000 children received treatment for severe wasting and about 58,000 mothers and caregivers received nutrition services. Nutrition-responsive social protection reached 61,000 children annually, while 22,500 households benefited from cash transfers. 
• In Malawi, more than 1.86 million children were screened, while more than 38,000 children with severe wasting received life-saving treatment, with 93 per cent recovering. The programme also strengthened the link between nutrition and social protection, providing nutrition-linked cash top-ups to 12,000 households.

The Government of Ireland’s renewed partnership comes at a critical time for global nutrition, as funding pressures threaten progress for children and women most at risk. 

By working through the CNF and alongside governments and partners, the investment will help UNICEF to strengthen national systems and expand proven interventions so that more vulnerable children and women can access essential nutrition services.