A child eating.Photo;AI
Global donors and humanitarian organisations have committed $500 million to scale up efforts aimed at treating and preventing child malnutrition in some of the world’s most fragile and crisis-affected regions.
The initiative, known as the One Childhood, One Chance Alliance, brings together Save the Children, UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, ALIMA, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the ELMA Relief Foundation and other partners.
It aims to reach at least five million children with urgent nutrition care and basic health services.
The programme focuses on children living in conflict zones, drought-hit areas, and displaced communities across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
In many of these settings, families struggle to access food, clean water, and basic healthcare, leaving young children at high risk of acute malnutrition.
Health experts say more than 42 million children worldwide are currently affected by acute malnutrition.
Most live in fragile environments where weak health systems and repeated shocks make it harder to get timely treatment. The new funding will support both emergency treatment and prevention.
This includes therapeutic feeding for severely malnourished children, outpatient care for children under five, and nutrition support for pregnant women and young children to reduce risks early.
In many of the targeted regions, children are facing overlapping pressures from conflict, climate shocks such as droughts and floods, and rising food prices.
These factors continue to push more families into hunger and limit access to essential services.
CIFF’s Executive Director for Nutrition, Anna Hakobyan, said children in fragile settings are bearing the brunt of these global pressures.
“Rising food prices and climate shocks are pushing more children into hunger,” she said.
She added that stronger coordination is needed to ensure children are protected before malnutrition becomes severe and harder to treat.
UNICEF said the funding will help expand access to life-saving nutrition services in places where many children currently go without care.
“No child should die from malnutrition,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This alliance reflects a shared commitment to act fast and save lives.”
Save the Children said the programme will also prioritise early action, focusing on reaching children before their condition worsens, especially in communities affected by repeated emergencies.
Health workers note that malnutrition is not only caused by a lack of food but also by limited access to healthcare, unsafe water, and weak community services. Young children and infants remain the most vulnerable.
The alliance estimates that at least $1 billion per year is needed to fully treat and prevent malnutrition in the hardest-hit countries.
The current commitment is expected to address urgent gaps while longer-term financing is still required.
The programme will be rolled out across selected districts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, prioritising areas with the highest levels of child hunger and the weakest health systems.
Organisers say the focus will be on expanding treatment centres, improving early detection of malnutrition, and strengthening local health systems so children can access care closer to where they live.
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