Devex Newswire: The shocking scale of child food poverty

The “alarming reality” of very young children without the healthy food they need to grow is laid bare by UNICEF.

Also in today’s edition: Why NCQG is the buzzy abbreviation at pre-COP climate talks, and the U.K. Conservatives’ parting shot on aid.

Diet denied

Sadly, the fact that vast numbers of very young children are deprived of the food types they need to develop properly may be little surprise, but the sheer scale of the crisis still has the power to shock.

One in 4 children under the age of 5 — a total of 181 million children across the globe — are enduring severe food poverty, according to a new report from UNICEF, lacking the nutritious diet that guards against lifelong consequences such as stunting.

UNICEF identifies three key reasons for such poor diets: lack of income, lack of information about healthy food choices, and a flood of cheap, unhealthy, ultraprocessed foods.

And conflict plays its part, of course, as illustrated by the catastrophic conditions facing children in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Some 9 out of 10 children in the territory are in the grip of severe food poverty, as war and restrictions on humanitarian aid wipe out food and health systems, the report sets out.

Nepal is held up as an example of a country that has succeeded in halving the number of children in this most desperate category over the past decade, thanks partly to a wide-ranging nutrition plan to improve agriculture, its health system, and social protections — with a consequent reduction in stunting.

Read: 1 in 4 young children deprived of nutritious food, UNICEF says

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Bonn chance

“There will be no climate action without climate finance,” said Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa think tank, setting the scene for U.N.’s annual midyear climate talks in Bonn, Germany — a stepping stone toward November’s COP 29 summit in Azerbaijan.

Yes, national leaders are still wrestling over how much money will be provided to lower-income countries to help them cope with the harsh consequences of our warming world — and who will provide that money.

Since June 3, governments have been negotiating the technical details of issues to be decided at COP 29 — including how to define a “new collective quantified goal,” or NCQG, through which high-income countries are meant to mobilize economic resources from 2025.

You will not be surprised to learn that this ain’t easy. The current draft text runs to 35 pages, reports climate journalist Tais Gadea Lara for Devex, containing multiple different options from different countries. There is no consensus.

Remember the background: Rich nations were late in delivering a promised $100 billion of climate finance annually from 2020 to 2025 — and that sum is a mere fraction of the $2.4 trillion of annual investment estimated to be required by 2030.

The latest draft text in Bonn contains a goal “in the range of $1.1-1.3 trillion USD/year,” based on proposals made by the Arab group and the African group, respectively. China and Arab oil-producing countries should start contributing, say the rich nations.

Sofía Gonzales-Zuñiga, senior climate policy analyst at Climate Analytics, declined to come up with the total being sought in Bonn, but warns: “The $100 billion is not enough and has never reflected the needs of the developing world.”

Read: Why climate finance is at the heart of key UN conference this week (Pro) 

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Same old Tory

The Conservatives are braced for a thumping in the U.K. general election on July 4, but are promising to turn the screw further on aid spending if they pull off a shock victory.

The last five years have seen Rishi Sunak’s party slash billions from the budget, divert billions more to housing asylum seekers in the U.K., and carry out what is widely viewed as a botched axing of a world-leading aid department.

Now its 2024 election manifesto vows that, in future, “every penny” of aid will be allocated in line with “a strict national interest test” — without explaining what that test might be, or who would decide it.

The wording hints at a return to then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’ controversial approach of using development as a tool of foreign policy — a stance that appeared to have been overturned in international development minister Andrew Mitchell’s poverty-focused strategy last year.

The manifesto also simply states the Conservatives would “return to spending 0.7% of [gross national income] when fiscal circumstances allow” — without mentioning the strict economic tests meant to determine that decision. Have they been dumped?

The Labour Party, near certain to actually win the election, will release its manifesto on Thursday, having yet to say whether it will reinstate an aid department, or outline any criteria for returning to 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats say they would do both — but are very much the third party in British politics and will have little influence if Labour wins the landslide now expected.

ICYMI: 

• Labour is likely to win the UK election. What would that mean for aid? (Pro) 
• Do Labour’s plans for UK aid stack up? (Pro)
• What the aid sector wants from the next UK government (Pro)

+ The U.K.'s development aid landscape has shifted significantly in recent years, and the stakes are high with the upcoming snap election. Don’t miss our Devex Pro Live event today to learn what’s at stake for aid in the U.K. election. Can’t attend live? Register anyway and we’ll send you a recording.

In the pipeline

Staying in the U.K., that aid budget has been creeping up — and now the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has unveiled its largest commercial pipeline since those cuts began in 2020, worth £2.5 billion in 2024-25.

Devex data analyst Miguel Antonio Tamonan dug into the numbers and found that nearly £1.5 billion is allocated for development-related contracts, up from £1.2 billion last year. And, of that, about £1.1 billion is dedicated to newly added opportunities, while £443 million is for re-advertised opportunities.

Read: FCDO's biggest contracts budget revealed (Pro)

+ Last chance to take our news quiz! How well did you keep up with the news last month? 

In other news

The World Bank approved a $1 billion loan for Pakistan’s largest hydropower project with China, aimed at promoting green energy and improving access for local communities. [ABC News]

A U.N. report revealed a 21% spike in grave violations against children in armed conflict in 2023, with over 30,000 verified cases of killings, injuries, recruitment of child soldiers, denial of humanitarian aid, and kidnappings. [France 24]

Low- and middle-income countries face record-high $150 billion-plus in interest payments on external debt in 2023–24, according to the World Bank. [Nikkei Asia]

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