AFD group's program at the "Nutrition for Growth" (N4G) Summit and Parc André Citroën

Problems of malnutrition are worsening all over the world. They include undernutrition, nutritional deficiencies, overweight and obesity. Today, not a single country is spared from malnutrition, which affects a third of the world's population.

This is why nutrition is a core aspect of human and social development issues, and provides a solid foundation for preventing, mitigating and combating the consequences of the many recurring shocks facing the world. Nutrition is an important factor in economic growth, poverty reduction and resilience to climate change and other shocks. It is an essential element for better health and well-being throughout life, and is indispensable for education and better development prospects. It is thus directly linked to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and has an impact on the attainment of 11 of the other 15 Sustainable Development Goals.

It’s against this backdrop that the "Nutrition for Growth" Summit (also known as "N4G") was launched in 2013 to mobilize the international community (governments, international organizations, civil society, foundations, the private sector and the research community) to make concrete political and financial commitments in support of nutrition. The Summit is organized every four years by the host country of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the last Summit, organized by Japan in 2021, governments and the private sector pledged over USD 27 billion in funding to promote nutrition.

France will be hosting the N4G Summit in Paris on March 27 and 28, 2025, to make more effective progress globally in the fight against malnutrition.

N4G objectives:

• Put nutrition at the heart of the sustainable development agenda
• Make the fight against all forms of malnutrition a universal cause
• Ensure continuity between N4G summits and commitments to good nutrition
• Maintain a high level of political and financial commitment to nutrition

Find out more:

Visit the official Nutrition for Growth Summit website

View the Focus 2030 “special edition” on the Summit

Read our Policy Brief : Can food vouchers support adaptive social protection and build climate resilience in the philippines?

Malnutrition is a threat to development. Thirty percent of the world's population is food insecure, and 150 million children under the age of five worldwide are stunted. The medical, economic and social consequences of malnutrition are indeed severe and long-lasting for individuals and communities.

France is pursuing its efforts to deal with these challenges through its international strategy for food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture (2019-2024), which focuses on concrete actions to improve the nutrition of vulnerable people, and in particular through AFD Group's action in the sectors of health and social protection, agriculture, education, water, hygiene and sanitation.

It's thus natural that AFD Group supports the N4G Summit through the following:

• Participation in the Salon de l'Agriculture (February 22 to March 2, 2025), in association with CIRAD, with a series of conferences to promote nutrition-sensitive food systems.
• Work to mobilize the members of Finance in Common, the global network of public development banks, at its Cape Town Summit (February 26 to 28, 2025), on the topic of nutrition, and to prepare a report on discussions to be presented at the N4G  Summit. 
• Co-organization of a scientific conference along with partner research organizations (INSERM, IRD, INRAE, CIRAD) to be held on March 26, 2025, at AFD. The conference will focus on the multidimensional challenges of nutrition: food systems, obesity/malnutrition/chronic diseases and challenges of the first 1,000 days. 
• A "Solutions Village", a place to meet and exchange ideas on the challenges of malnutrition. At this event organized by Expertise France and held from March 26 to 28, 2025, AFD Group will run a joint stand with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), as a sign of continuity with the previous edition of the N4G (Tokyo 2021). 
• Participation in the "Nutrition for Growth" Summit (March 27-28, 2025), to present a feedback report on work carried out with banks in the Finance in Common network. 

Find out more about AFD Group's action to combat malnutrition

When: March 26, 2025, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CET)
Where: AFD / Mistral - 3 place Louis Armand, 75012 Paris, or online

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and its research partners are organizing a scientific conference as part of the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit. Malnutrition has a direct impact on the probability of premature death in children, and on learning ability. It perpetuates inequalities between generations. Addressing malnutrition means tackling multiple issues, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. At the same time, a wide range of interconnected factors must be taken into account, such as sanitation, food systems, the role of women, childcare and the capacity of health systems. Scientific research plays a key role in shaping public policy and will be at the heart of discussions at the N4G Summit in Paris. The aim of the scientific conference on March 26 is to share with policy-makers the most recent research findings on themes essential to improving nutrition.

Program

• Introduction: Rémy Rioux, CEO, Agence française de développement
   
• SESSION 1 | SOCIAL PROTECTION: VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND THE FIRST 1000 DAYS

Ensuring access to proper nutrition is one of the most pressing challenges in global development, particularly for vulnerable populations. Social protection mechanisms play a crucial role in safeguarding food security and nutrition, yet millions of people, especially in low-income settings, still face barriers to accessing essential nutrition.

Introduction: State of the art and key Issues
Prof Zulfiqar Bhutta, Centre for Global Child Health, University of Toronto.

Case studies:

1.    Pakistan - NASHONUMA Social Safety Nets for Mothers and its evaluation by the Aga Khan University
Naveed Akbar, Former BISP General Director

2.    France - Vital'im: social innovation to strengthen access to healthy and sustainable food ?
Hélène Quéau, Director of the France mission - Action Against Hunger
Mathieu Geraads, Director of Prevention and Social Action - Seine-Saint-Denis Department

3.    « Walang Gutom » National Program («Zero Hunger 2027 ») – Philippines : Lessons learned
Baldr Bringas, Walang Gutom Program Responsible Department of Social Welfare
Rita Abdel Sater, AFD Research department - Evaluation and learning

4.    The Right to Food : Lessons from cases studies, Issues and Perspectives"
Benjamin Coriat, Economist, Professor Emeritus at the Sorbonne University Paris Nord
 

Panel discussion with Baldr Bringas, Hélène Quéau, Naveed Akbar, Benjamin Coriat

Moderated by Dr Flavia Bustreo, PMNCH Strategy Group and former WHO ADG for Family, Women and Children Health

• SESSION 2 | WHICH FOOD SYSTEMS SHOULD BE PROMOTED FOR A NUTRITIONALLY DENSE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DIET?

Introduction
From the HLPE Report on Nutrition & Food Systems (2017) to the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (2025): what progress has been made?
Jessica Fanzo, Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia Climate School (Columbia University)

Case studies

1.    Agroecology and women’s nutrition in urban and rural settings
Rachel Bezner Kerr, Professor of Global Development at Cornell University

2.    School meals as a lever for food systems transformation
Donald Bundy, Director of the Research Consortium of the School Meals Coaliton and Sylvie Avallone, Research Consortium of the School Meals Coalition – Focal point France

3.    Leveraging Coalitions to Transform Urban Food Environments
Amos Laar, Professor of Public Health and Nutrition at the University of Ghana

4.    Promoting fruits and vegetables through food systems transformation
Renuka Silva, Professor of Nutrition at Wayamba University of Sri Lanka

Round table
Respondent: H.E Sok Silo, Cambodia, Secretary-General of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)
M. Kobenan Kouassi ADJOUMANI, Minister of State Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production of Côte d'Ivoire

Panel discussion with Rachel Bezner Kerr, Sylvie Avallone, Amos Laar, Renuka Silva Moderated by Fabrice DeClerck, Alliance of Biodiversity and CIAT of the CGIAR.

Conclusion
Take home messages by Sophie Nicklaus on behalf of INRAE, Cirad and IRD.

• SESSION 3 | LAUNCH of the LANCET COMMISSION GLOBAL HEALTH 2050: PROGRESS OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS AND FUTURE TRENDS

In Global Health 2050, the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health concludes that dramatic improvements in human welfare are achievable by mid-century with focused health investments. By 2050, countries that choose to do so could reduce by 50% the probability of premature death in their populations—ie, the probability of dying before age 70 years—from the levels in 2019. We call this goal 50 by 50. The interventions that enable achieving the goal of 50 by 50 should also reduce morbidity and disability at all ages.

Introduction by Dean Jamison, University of California, San Francisco

Presentation of Commission key recommendations: Stéphane Verguet, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Panel discussion: Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, Vice President, Santé mondiale 2030, Ole Norheim, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Donald Bundy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Prof Agnès Buzyn, former France Minister for Solidarity and Health (2017-2020)

Moderator: Agnès Soucat, AFD Director for Health and Social Protection

Closing: Sean Cleghorn, Executive Editor at the Lancet
 

• SESSION 4 | MALNUTRITION, OBESITY AND FOOD-RELATED NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Introduction: State of the art and key Issues
Dr. Malek Batal, Professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine and Director of the WHO-Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development

Case studies

1.    The double burden of the malnutrition concept and epidemiology
Dr. Malek Batal, Professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine and Director of the WHO-Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development

2.    Development and implementation of a nutrition education program for school-going adolescents in the context of double burden of malnutrition in Cameroon
Dr. Eugene Sobngwi, Ministry of Health of Cameroon

3.    Example of a national action in France: The history of the Nutriscore
Dr Mathilde Touvier, Head of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team

4.    Example of the Sugar Tax in Mexico
Dr. Simón Barquera (Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública) (Bloomberg Philanthropies / Vice President of the World Obesity Federation

Round table: How to rebalance actions against obesity between public health interventions at the scale of individual behaviors and societal measures involving legislative changes?

Respondents:
Prof. Zely Arivelo RANDRIAMANANTANY, Minister of Public Health of Madagascar, Dr Marika Nomura, Senior Nutrition Advisor, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Government of Japan

• Take home messages by Elsa Morandat, World Diabetes Foundation

In parallel with the official N4G Summit, the "Solutions Village"  will be held at Parc André Citroën, 2 Rue Cauchy, Paris, from March 26 to 28, 2025. Expertise France is coordinating the organization of this exhibition and discussion forum on nutrition.

The Solutions Village will showcase innovations associated with the fight against malnutrition. Some 30 exhibitors from the private sector, civil society and development institutions will present their work and solutions there.

Among the exhibitors, the AFD Group will be running a joint stand with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), in a sign of continuity with the previous edition of the N4G (Tokyo 2021). The actions carried out by AFD, Proparco, the Fund for Innovation in Development, and Expertise France will be presented.

• March 26: Scientific conference, AFD Mistral building, 3 place Louis Armand, Paris 12
• March 26-27-28: Solutions Village, Parc André Citroën, 2 Rue Cauchy, Paris 15
• March 27-28: Nutrition for Growth Summit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris Convention, Paris 15