Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Enhancing maternal and child nutrition in external assistance: an EU policy framework

The effects of poor nutrition represent one of the most serious and preventable tragedies of our time. Progress in meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger is lagging behind in many countries, with one in six children still underweight. These children are victims of a vicious cycle, where poverty, inadequate diet and disease combine to give them the worst possible start in life, trapping individuals and societies in poverty.

The EU is a major actor in terms of food and nutrition security – financial decisions towards rural development, territorial planning, sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security amount to an average of over €1 billion annually for the period 2006-2011. Particular initiatives, all of which have contributed to enhanced food and nutrition security, have included the €1 billion Food Facility, which assisted those countries worst affected by the 2007/2008 food price crisis and the €1 billion MDG Initiative, which supports those countries which are lagging behind in meeting these goals including in particular MDG 1c on halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, as well as MDG 3 and 4. In addition, the EU addresses acute food and nutrition insecurity through humanitarian and development assistance. Every year, between one third and half of the EU’s annual humanitarian budget is spent to cover food and nutrition needs.

Recently, in the framework of the 2012 London Global Hunger Event, the Commission has taken a political commitment to support partner countries in reducing the number of children under five who are stunted by at least 7 million by 2025. This Communication is the Commission's response to achieving this target and more broadly, to reducing overall maternal and child undernutrition.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)141: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:141:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)72: Addressing undernutrition in emergencies http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:072:FIN

ESO: Background information: New EU policy to improve nutrition across the world and save millions of lives http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-new-eu-policy-to-improve-nutrition-across-the-world-and-save-millions-of-lives/

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