This year, a key focus of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Nutrition for Development is on the critical Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris, a global pledging moment to drive greater action towards ending malnutrition which aims to:
- put nutrition at the centre of the sustainable development agenda;
- make the fight against all forms of malnutrition a universal cause (this includes obesity);
- create continuity between N4G summits and commitments to good nutrition; and
- maintain a high level of political and financial engagement in nutrition.
Ahead of N4G – and following a meeting in December with the Special Envoy for N4G, Brieuc Pont – the APPG’s Co-Chairs, David Mundell MP and Steve Race MP, travelled to Paris to build a deeper understanding of the aims and objectives of N4G Paris, to understand how UK Parliamentarians can support the summit itself, and to engage and build relationships with French Parliamentarians ahead of N4G. Lord Oates, Chief Executive of United Against Malnutrition and Hunger (UAMH), which provides the Secretariat for the APPG, also joined the visit.
The delegation kick-started the two-day visit with a meeting with French Member of Parliament, Éléonore Caroit, to discuss how to make the most of the political opportunity the upcoming summit affords to raise the political profile of malnutrition, hunger, and food insecurity. Another core objective of the APPG is to build and maintain relationships with Parliamentarians in other donor countries to help strengthen Parliamentary diplomacy and the collective case for global action. Éléonore will be playing a key role in N4G Paris, including as Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Assembly and a rapporteur of a fact-finding mission on food, and in her capacity as Parliamentarian for Latin America.
Following the meeting, the delegation attended a reception in the French National Assembly, Malnutrition: a global challenge, a collective response, hosted by Éléonore Caroit and coordinated by N4G, Action Santé Mondiale (also known as Global Health Advocates), and UNICEF France. The reception, marking a month before N4G, also aimed to galvanise support and increase advocacy for action on N4G. Speakers included Éléonore, the Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Brieuc Pont, and Gavi’s Dr Sania Nishtar. Attendees included Olympic and Paralympic medallists, Ambassadors and Parliamentarians, and leaders from business, philanthropy, and civil society.
After the reception, the delegation was able to have dinner with speaker, Dr Sania Nishtar, Executive Director of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi is a global public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1.1 billion children – and prevented more than 18.8 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. A child born in a Gavi-supported country is 70 per cent less likely to die before their fifth birthday than in 2000. The delegation discussed Gavi’s upcoming replenishment, including opportunities to expand integrated nutrition integration. Immunisation and nutrition programmes are two of the most cost-effective interventions to help children survive and thrive. By addressing both undernutrition and under-immunisation simultaneously, we can significantly improve both health outcomes and vaccine efficacy.
Whilst in Paris, the delegation also had an opportunity to meet with Laura McCambridge, Minister Counsellor for Economic, Political and Social Affairs at the British Embassy in Paris. The delegation discussed the UK Government’s approach to N4G, including how they are working with France on preparations for the summit, and how the UK is working with other European countries on development and global nutrition issues more widely.
Finally, the delegation ended their visit with a meeting with Brieuc Pont, the Special Envoy for N4G to continue discussions on how to maximise political advocacy in the month before the summit.