Gates Foundation urges increased global health spending to avert malnutrition crisis

Bill Gates, co-chair and trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [Standard, File]

World leaders are being urged to increase health funding to improve child nutrition and mitigate the impact of climate change, according to a new report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The annual report, titled A Race to Nourish a Warming World, calls for targeted health spending to combat the growing malnutrition crisis.

The report warns that climate change may push 40 million more children into stunting and leave 28 million children wasted between 2024 and 2050.

Stunting prevents children from growing to their full physical and mental potential, while wasting leads to severe weakness and an increased risk of death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 2023 that 148 million children faced stunting and 45 million suffered from wasting.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, described malnutrition as "the world’s worst child health crisis," worsened by climate change.

"Today, the world is dealing with more challenges than at any point in my adult life—inflation, debt, new wars," said Gates.

"Unfortunately, aid isn’t keeping pace with these needs, particularly in the places that need it the most." He called for renewed global health efforts despite the competing financial demands on governments.

The report noted a decrease in foreign aid to Africa, with funding dropping from 40 per cent to 25 per cent over the past 20 years.

This decline poses a threat to the health of children in the region, increasing the risk of preventable deaths.

The foundation is calling for support for the Child Nutrition Fund and urging governments to back established health institutions.

"If we do these three things, we won’t just usher in a new global health boom, we’ll save millions of lives," noted Gates.

The report also emphasises the economic toll of malnutrition.

The World Bank estimates that undernutrition costs $3 trillion in productivity losses annually.

In low-income countries, the impact ranges from 3 per cent to 16 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to a 2008-level global recession every year.

Gates argued that investing in nutrition is the best way to combat climate change’s effects. "Malnutrition makes every step our species wants to take heavier and harder," he said.

 "But if we solve malnutrition, we make it easier to solve every other problem."

 New agricultural technologies are highlighted as part of the solution.

These technologies are increasing milk production by two to three times, which could prevent millions of stunting cases by 2050.

Additionally, research into the microbiome shows promise for improving children’s gut health, allowing them to absorb nutrients and grow as needed.

Dr. Víctor Aguayo, UNICEF’s director of child nutrition and development, said, "The Child Nutrition Fund could be a game changer. It holds the potential to address the child malnutrition crisis and transform philanthropy for maternal and child nutrition."