The U.K. government has declined to make new spending commitments on nutrition in a move described as “deeply concerning” by nutrition experts — and defying recent parliamentary recommendations.
Last week, the U.K. government said its ongoing spending review process meant it was unable to commit funding at March’s Nutrition for Growth, or N4G, summit in France or to make a future pledge to UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund, which was co-founded by the then-Conservative U.K. government in 2022.
It was responding to an earlier report by the International Development Committee, published in March, which tracked British progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 on ending hunger by 2030. It called for the government to “lead by example” in making a “generous and well targeted pledge” at the summit — which eventually broke the record set at the previous N4G summit in 2021 despite the U.K. and U.S. declining to pledge anything — and making a new commitment on nutrition and food security “within the next six months.” It also urged the government to pledge at least £50 million ($67.5 million) to the Child Nutrition Fund, among numerous other recommendations on nutrition.
About the author
Susannah Birkwood
Susannah Birkwood is a U.K.-based freelance journalist and media and communications consultant who has worked for international organizations including WWF and Plan International.
