On 23 March 2026, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Nutrition for Development co-hosted a Parliamentary reception with the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN) UK on the role of nutrition in the UK’s future of development partnerships.
The reception marked a year on from the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit Paris and was an opportunity to look ahead to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)’s Global Partnerships Conference scheduled for May 2026. It was hosted by the APPG’s Co-Chair, David Mundell MP, who provided opening remarks, with the APPG’s former Co-Chair, Steve Race MP, providing closing remarks. The keynote speech was provided by Chris Elmore MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Multilateral, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean at the FCDO.
Other speakers included Finian Ali, a nutrition advocate and development research fellow from Nigeria who acts as the National Youth Coordinator for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Civil Society Network in Nigeria and who is also an Expert Adviser for United Against Malnutrition & Hunger, who provide the APPG’s Secretariat. Finian delivered the Youth Declaration at N4G Paris and was able to reflect on the commitments made at the Summit, as well as the support provided by the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). Cynthia McCaffrey. Cynthia, UNICEF’s Representative to India, also addressed the reception, highlighting some of the critical work UNICEF is doing to support maternal and child nutrition.
The event was attended by a number of cross-party Parliamentarians including APPG Vice-Chair, Monica Harding MP, APPG Members, Baroness Brown of Silvertown, Baroness Featherstone, Alan Gemmell MP, Baroness Hodgson, Baroness Northover, Lord Purvis, Baroness Sugg, Sam Rushworth MP, and Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, and Parliamentarians including Lord Russell, Baroness Pidgeon, and Lord Pack.
Representatives of ICAN UK at the reception included Action Against Hunger UK, Concern Worldwide UK, Emergency Nutrition Network, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children UK, The Power of Nutrition, UNICEF UK, and Unlimit Health. They were joined by representatives from organisations including the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Reading, the Gates Foundation, the Eleanor Crook Foundation, CGIAR, Mothers Manifesto, SUN Civil Society Network, the International Red Cross, Action for Global Health, the ONE Campaign, the World Food Programme, and the FCDO. Former Tanzanian Member of Parliament, Neema Lugangira, joined alongside High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia.
The event included a Call to Action for Parliamentarians to sign, asking the UK government to protect and scale investment in global nutrition including through increasing investments in mechanisms such as the CNF, show leadership where it matters most through putting lifesaving nutrition at the heart of the UK’s development agenda including making it a headline priority at the Global Partnerships Conference, and ensure accountability for N4G commitments through integrating nutrition across all development and humanitarian programmes and delivering on our commitments including through transparent reporting.