Malnutrition, the road to 2030: building on success, facing what’s next

The past decade has seen notable progress in the fight against malnutrition. Exclusive breastfeeding rates have risen to nearly 50%, 40 million fewer children suffer from stunting, and wasting has slightly declined. However, major challenges remain: 148 million children are still stunted, 45 million suffer from wasting, and anaemia affects nearly one in three women globally. Malnutrition remains a leading factor in 45% of deaths among children under five.

Climate change, conflicts, economic shocks, and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to worsen food insecurity and nutrition outcomes. In 2023, 733 million people faced hunger—152 million more than in 2019—and over 2.8 billion could not afford a healthy diet.

Momentum: The WHO member states recently extended the Nutrition Decade to align with the 2030 Agenda and maintain high-level commitment. Building on this momentum and the over 400 commitments made at the 2025 Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, the Geneva Health Forum and its partners are organizing a high-level session on nutrition.

The Geneva Health Forum will provide a plateform to present the outcomes of the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, successes and challenges from countries involved in the fight for better nutrition and a proposition of an initiative to support nutrition efforts on the Geneva International platform introduced. This session aims to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and ensure nutrition is firmly placed on the global health agenda.