Global Aid Funding Cuts - 14 Million Children At Increased Risk Of Severe Malnutrition And Death

Reductions in donor funding threaten to unravel decades of progress for the world’s most vulnerable children and women.

At least 14 million children are expected to face disruptions to nutrition support and services because of recent and expected global funding cuts, leaving them at heightened risk of severe malnutrition and death - according to initial analyses issued by UNICEF as world leaders gather at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris.

The funding crisis comes at a time of unprecedented need for children who continue to face record levels of displacement, new and protracted conflicts, disease outbreaks, and the deadly consequences of climate change - all of which are undermining their access to adequate nutrition.

"Over the last decades, we have made impressive progress in reducing child malnutrition globally because of a shared commitment and sustained investment," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Since 2000, the number of stunted children under the age of five has fallen by 55 million, and the lives of millions of severely malnourished children have been saved. But steep funding cuts will dramatically reverse these gains and put the lives of millions more children at risk."

Additional impacts across 17 high priority countries due to funding cuts include:

- More than 2.4 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could go without Ready-to-use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF) for the remainder of 2025.

- Up to 2,300 life-saving stabilisation centres - providing critical care for children suffering from severe wasting with medical complications - are at risk of closing or severely scaling back services.

- Almost 28,000 UNICEF-supported outpatient therapeutic centres for the treatment of malnutrition are at risk, and in some cases have already stopped operating.

Today, levels of severe wasting in children under five remain gravely high in some fragile contexts and humanitarian emergencies. Adolescent girls and women are especially vulnerable. Even before the funding cuts, the number of pregnant and breastfeeding women and adolescent girls suffering from acute malnutrition soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million - or 25 per cent - since 2020. UNICEF expects these figures to rise without urgent action from donors as well as adequate investments from national governments.

"UNICEF is calling on governments and donors to prioritise investments in health and nutrition programmes for children and is urging national governments to allocate more funding to domestic nutrition and health services. Good nutrition is the foundation of child survival and development, with impressive returns on investment. Dividends will be measured in stronger families, societies and countries, and a more stable world," said Russell.

UNICEF is determined to stay and deliver for the world’s children by continuing to prioritise high-impact programmes, optimise resources, and accelerate cost-saving measures. But urgent and immediate action is needed to mitigate the impact of the global funding crisis on children, protect the most vulnerable, and safeguard their futures. To address child and maternal malnutrition in the long-term - including through the prevention, detection, and treatment of child undernutrition - UNICEF launched the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) in 2023, with the support of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Gates Foundation, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. UNICEF continues to urge governments, partners and philanthropic donors to contribute to this lifesaving fund and other flexible funding instruments for children and women.

About UNICEF 

UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.

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