IFPRI: ROI to Address Stunting in Developing Countries Far Outweighs Investment

10 Dec 2014 --- On average, for every dollar that governments around the globe invest in nutrition to reduce stunting, they see a return of 16 times as much--and the return on investment for some countries is much higher: In Sri Lanka, for instance, it is 56 times as much; in South Africa, it’s 53 times the initial investment.

So why do governments so often neglect to adequately invest in the health and wellbeing of their citizens? Of the 193 United Nation member states, more than 40 percent of them (including the United States) do not have data on more than two of four World Health Assembly nutrition targets included in the first-ever Global Nutrition Report launched last month. Only one—Colombia—is on course to meet four of the full six WHA targets by 2025!

These and other findings from the Global Nutrition Report—the first comprehensive look at nutrition data and indicators from the 193 United Nation members—will be analyzed with a view toward actionable solutions at two roundtable discussions on Tuesday, Dec. 9, by nutrition leaders, including Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, author Roger Thurow, and key nutrition, agriculture, and health experts. Global Nutrition Report lead author, Lawrence Haddad, will present findings from the report at both roundtables.

The first roundtable, hosted by IFPRI at 2033 K Street NW in Washington DC from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm, will be moderated by Thurow and feature Haddad, USAID Senior Deputy Assistant to the Administrator Richard Greene, and World Bank agriculture expert Juergen Voegele, as well as IFPRI’s general director, Shenggen Fan.

The second roundtable, hosted by 1,000 Days at the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm, will feature Secretary Vilsack and Haddad, as well as representatives from the National WIC Association, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the World Bank, among others.

Almost every country in the world, rich or poor, faces a serious public health risk from some form of malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, underweight or obesity. The cost of poor nutrition is high: premature death, stressed health systems, and a severe drag on economic progress. The challenge is how to prompt governments and others to embed nutrition not just into their health agendas, but also their agriculture, infrastructure, social protection and education agendas.

This discussion is designed to ensure that the Global Nutrition Report becomes a call to action for nutrition so that governments and civil society actors can begin to put nutrition at the top of their agendas. The report provides a wealth of information on the status of nutrition around the world—a great first step.