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	One billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition by Catherine Russell, Executive Director UNICEF   UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at the Nutrition for Growth Summit, Paris 28 March 2025:   "The subject of this session is: The nutrition of girls and women. Or perhaps I should say, the malnutrition of girls and women.   Over the last few decades, the world has made significant progress in reducing child malnutrition all over the world. But today, we are facing a funding crisis that threatens to roll back our progress – and women and adolescent girls are bearing the brunt.   Around the world, women and girls eat last and eat least. When food is scarce and money is tight, women serve the men and children first.   They save the best and largest portions for them. They eat less and skip meals altogether.   This is what life looks like for millions of women and girls around the world.   And for far too many – especially those caught up in conflicts and other crises – the situation is getting worse. Between 2019 and 2022, the food insecurity gender gap more than doubled.   How ironic – and how unjust – is it that women are responsible for up to 80 per cent of all food production in developing countries and yet are almost 27 per cent more likely to be food insecure than men.   One billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition -- and more than 60 per cent of all chronically undernourished people in the world today are female.   The food and nutrition crisis takes an especially brutal toll on pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children.   In the 12 hardest hit countries, the number of pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women with acute malnutrition soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million since 2020 – an increase of 25 per cent.   Maternal malnutrition has dire consequences for women and adolescent girls themselves. Malnutrition disproportionately impacts their learning, their life choices, and their future earnings. It also threatens their health, their wellbeing, and their lives.   Malnourished mothers are more likely to experience complications in pregnancy and childbirth – and their risk of dying is twice as high as that of well-nourished mothers.   The consequences of maternal malnutrition can be catastrophic for their children. Undernourished and underweight mothers are at higher risk of pre-term births – which put babies at higher risk of death and disability.   Babies born to malnourished mothers are also at much higher risk of low birth weight, in turn making them more vulnerable to infection, disease, and death.   We estimate that maternal malnutrition contributes to the deaths of 800,000 newborns every year. Babies who do survive are at much higher risk of stunting, which causes irreversible physical and cognitive harm.   We have made significant progress against stunting in recent years. But around half of all stunting still originates during pregnancy and in the first six months of life, when children are entirely dependent on their mothers for nutrition.   The human costs of malnutrition in women and adolescent girls are tragic -- and the economic costs are also unacceptably high. A recent analysis shows that malnutrition in women and adolescent girls costs the global economy more than $1.6 trillion annually in lost productivity and wasted potential.   Just anemia alone – which is on the rise and already affects nearly 1 in 3 women of reproductive age globally – costs approximately $113 billion annually.   Especially in a time of skyrocketing needs and shrinking resources, we cannot afford to ignore the costs of inaction.   These costs will surely rise. For example, without action and investment, malnutrition will only get worse in a warming climate. And here again, it will disproportionately affect women and adolescent girls.   Extreme weather like droughts and erratic rainfall disrupt food systems that are often already strained. Among other things, this puts women and girls at greater risk of micronutrient deficiencies – and puts already-malnourished women and girls at greater risk of developing more acute malnutrition.   Crises caused by warming climates force more girls than boys to drop out of school. This not only interrupts their education. In many cases, it also blocks their access to school-based nutrition programs.   Women represent 80 per cent of the population displaced by climate change. This heightens their vulnerability to many harms – including disrupting their access to health and nutrition services, education, and protection.   We are only five years out from the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals, which prominently include the global goal to end hunger, achieve food security, and improve nutrition for all.   We will never achieve this goal – and so many related goals – if we do not put the nutrition of women and girls at the center of the global development agenda. If we fail to act now, we will see hard-won gains in nutrition slip away, leaving millions of children more vulnerable than ever.   From Afghanistan to Sudan, I have seen the impact of gender inequalities on the health and wellbeing of girls and women. I have seen women and adolescent girls go hungry to feed their families. But I have also seen families and communities flourish when women and girls have equal access to nutritious food and healthy diets.   UNICEF is calling on governments and their partners to take the lead in accelerating progress for adolescent girls’ and women’s nutrition.   That means committing resources and prioritizing access to nutritious food for adolescent girls and women – especially in crises when food and nutrition security are threatened. It means free access to essential nutrition services before and during pregnancy, and while breastfeeding.   It means legislating to protect adolescent girls and women from nutrient-poor, ultra-processed foods. These foods are one of the root causes of the rapid rise of obesity and overweight. Not surprisingly, this global health risk affects more women than men.   It means investing in more and better data about gender and nutrition so we can better understand the problem and develop more effective interventions. It means doing more to keep girls in school -- and investing more in healthy school food programs, as well as nutrition education.   And it means breaking down the barriers and social norms that lead to nutrition gender disparities in the first place. That includes doing more for women’s economic empowerment.   The women who are growing the food and cooking the food should have their fair share of the food – and the right to decide where resources are best spent.   Improving nutrition for women and girls is not only a moral imperative. It is a sound investment in the future – unlocking a double dividend of mutually reinforcing benefits. The World Bank estimates that investing in women’s nutrition could increase economic productivity in low- and middle-income countries by $110 billion. Every dollar invested in reducing anemia in women could produce $12 in economic returns.   Investing in girls’ nutrition yields another double dividend: Better nourished girls do better in school and stay in school longer, which can increase their future earnings. That’s good for them, good for their children, and good for their societies.   This is the 30th anniversary year of the Beijing Declaration – the most important blueprint in history for advancing the rights of women and girls. And we have certainly made progress. Yet here we are, still confronting the denial of one of the most basic rights of all: The right to nutrition.   We need to take stock of the inequalities that continue to undermine that right for millions of girls and women all over the world. And more than take stock: We need to take bold and collective action to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and gender inequality. Women and girls have a right to their seat – and a full plate – at the table.   We know what it takes to get life-saving nutrition support and services to the women and children who need it most. We just need to mobilize the political will and resources to act. There is no time to waste.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-nutrition-growth-summit Visit the related web page
	Every two minutes a woman dies in pregnancy and childbirth: Tackling a global maternal health crisis by UNFPA, UNCEF, WHO, agencies   Apr. 2025   Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth, according to a major new report released today, but United Nations (UN) agencies highlight the threat of major backsliding as unprecedented aid cuts take effect around the world.   Released on World Health Day, the UN report, Trends in maternal mortality, shows a 40 per cent global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 – largely due to improved access to essential health services. Still, the report reveals that the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016, and that an estimated 260,000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – roughly equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.   The report comes as humanitarian funding cuts are having severe impacts on essential health care in many parts of the world, forcing countries to roll back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health. These cuts have led to facility closures and loss of health workers, while also disrupting supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria – all leading causes of maternal deaths.   Without urgent action, the agencies warn that pregnant women in multiple countries will face severe repercussions – particularly those in humanitarian settings where maternal deaths are already alarmingly high.   “While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today – despite the fact that solutions exist to prevent and treat the complications that cause the vast majority of maternal deaths,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).   “In addition to ensuring access to quality maternity care, it will be critical to strengthen the underlying health and reproductive rights of women and girls – factors that underpin their prospects of healthy outcomes during pregnancy and beyond.”   The report also provides the first global account of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal survival. In 2021, an estimated 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth – increasing to 322,000 from 282,000 the previous year. This upsurge was linked not only to direct complications caused by COVID-19 but also widespread interruptions to maternity services.   This highlights the importance of ensuring such care during pandemics and other emergencies, noting that pregnant women need reliable access to routine services and checks as well as round-the-clock urgent care.   “When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk. Too often, both are lost to causes we know how to prevent,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.   “Global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, especially in the most fragile settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need when giving birth. The world must urgently invest in midwives, nurses, and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby has a chance to survive and thrive.”   The report highlights persistent inequalities between regions and countries, as well as uneven progress. With maternal mortality declining by around 40 per cent between 2000 and 2023, sub-Saharan Africa achieved significant gains – and was one of just three UN regions alongside Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia, to see significant drops after 2015. However, confronting high rates of poverty and multiple conflicts, the sub-Saharan Africa region still counted for approximately 70 per cent of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023.   Indicating slowing progress, maternal mortality stagnated in five regions after 2015: Northern Africa and Western Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.   “Access to quality maternal health services is a right, not a privilege, and we all share the urgent responsibility to build well-resourced health systems that safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director.   “By boosting supply chains, the midwifery workforce, and the disaggregated data needed to pinpoint those most at risk, we can and must end the tragedy of preventable maternal deaths and their enormous toll on families and societies.”   Pregnant women living in humanitarian emergencies face some of the highest risks globally, according to the report. Nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths now occur in countries affected by fragility or conflict. For women in these settings, the risks are staggering: a 15-year-old girl faces a 1 in 51 risk of dying from a maternal cause at some point over her lifetime compared to 1 in 593 in more stable countries. The highest risks are in Chad and the Central African Republic (1 in 24), followed by Nigeria (1 in 25), Somalia (1 in 30), and Afghanistan (1 in 40).   Beyond ensuring critical services during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, the report notes the importance of efforts to enhance women’s overall health by improving access to family planning services, as well as preventing underlying health conditions like anaemias, malaria and noncommunicable diseases that increase risks. It will also be critical to ensure girls stay in school and that women and girls have the knowledge and resources to protect their health.   Urgent investment is needed to prevent maternal deaths. The world is currently off-track to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target for maternal survival. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio would need to fall by around 15 per cent each year to meet the 2030 target – significantly increasing from current annual rates of decline of around 1.5 per cent.   http://www.unfpa.org/news/every-two-minutes-woman-dies-pregnancy-and-childbirth-tackling-global-maternal-health-crisis http://www.unfpa.org/news/front-line-midwives-three-reasons-support-these-humanitarian-health-workers-amid-global http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/aid-cuts-threaten-fragile-progress-ending-maternal-deaths-un-agencies-warn http://www.who.int/news/item/16-10-2024-who-urges-expansion-of-lifesaving-midwifery-care-for-women-and-babies http://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/ http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2025 http://news.un.org/en/audio/2025/03/1161586 http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1161936 http://www.unfpa.org/press/statement-unfpa-executive-director-united-states-government-funding-cuts http://www.passblue.com/2025/05/28/us-cuts-to-un-midwife-projects-will-mean-more-infant-deaths/
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