200 million children are affected by stunting or wasting and almost twice as many suffer from deficiencies in vitamins and other essential nutrients. The added strain of the COVID-19 pandemic could throw an additional 140 million children into poverty in 2020 and increase the number of undernourished children by 7 million. At the same time, overweight and obesity are rising, including in low- and middle-income countries.

The UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 sets forth the vision, goal and priorities to support governments and partners, in scaling up policies, strategies and programmes to end child malnutrition in both development and humanitarian settings.

The Strategy recommits to rights-based and context-specific programmes that are informed by evidence and innovation. The strategy is based on a systems approach to nutrition that strengthens the ability of five key systems – food, health, water and sanitation, education, and social protection – to deliver diets, services and practices that support adequate maternal and child nutrition, making these systems more accountable for sustainable nutrition results.