Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals, what steps he is taking to maintain levels of investment in nutrition.

The UK Government has been a global leader on nutrition since we hosted the first Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2013.

Earlier this month the Secretary of State for International Development committed to prioritise ending preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children in the developing world by 2030. Addressing malnutrition is critical and central to this ambition. Improving nutrition in developing countries is also key for achieving at least 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Since 2015 DFID has reached 60 million women, adolescent girls and young children with nutrition services – including lifesaving treatment for child wasting, support for breastfeeding and new crop varieties that are rich in essential nutrients.

We are working with the Government of Japan to help prepare for the Nutrition for Growth Summit in December 2020. The Summit will be an important opportunity to set the world on the path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

We will be looking closely over the coming months at what further commitment the UK can make at the 2020 Summit to contribute to this important goal.