World Vision says G20 finally puts nutrition on its plate but fast delivery needed for vulnerable children

Los Cabos, MEXICO (June 19, 2012) — As the Los Cabos Summit concludes today, World Vision is pleased that the G20 affirmed commitments to work with developing countries on meeting and moving beyond the MDGs and has not allowed the Eurozone crisis to eclipse their commitment to building a better future for the world’s poor. When the G20 met in Cannes, they devoted less than a page of their 33-page communique to agriculture and development, and a tiny fraction of their time. This time there are 4 pages of 14 on these essential global issues. We now want them to move beyond these vague commitments to ensure that these references bring real and lasting benefit to children, including by establishing child-specific outcomes in each stream.

We are pleased the G20 asked the Development Working Group to set out a process for ensuring assessment and accountability for G20 development outcomes. This is a sign of their intent to take on true global leadership beyond addressing financial stability. Ultimately, the G20’s accountability in this area must be to the poor and their voices must be heard in setting the measures and assessing success both directly and through civil society organizations.

The G20s efforts to improve agriculture and food security in partnership with civil society and business is promising and we are hopeful that it will result in concrete improvements for the people who most need these solutions. We implore the G20 to measure their results by the impact it has on small-holder farmers, especially women. Reducing child malnutrition rates is one of the best ways the G20 can ensure programmes are reaching the poorest households. Simply increasing productivity doesn’t automatically ensure that the benefits are reaching families, thus nutrition-specific interventions are critical for reducing chronic malnutrition.

The explicit mention of G20 support for the Scaling Up Nutrition movement makes us hopeful that the world can dramatically reduce child deaths and stunting. We will be looking for a move from a broad political commitment to concrete measurable steps for implementing the proven solutions recommended by SUN in countries with high rates of stunting and child mortality. G20 leaders must continue to do this in close consultation with communities and civil society. In order to meet global targets for reducing stunting by 40% by 2025, as agreed at the recent World Health Assembly, it’s urgent for each of the G20 countries to make solid commitments before meeting again in Russia. This is especially critical for those countries that continue to have shameful rates of child mortality and stunting. The G20 has recognized the devastating food crises in West Africa and the Horn of Africa as proof of the need for stronger mechanisms to respond to and prevent emergencies—emphasizing much-needed long-term responses to food security, but they don’t go far enough in making specific commitments for those mechanisms or in making commitments to assist in urgently and adequately responding to the current crises.

This has been the most inclusive and transparent G20 process that World Vision has experienced and we call on Mr. Putin/Russia to build on a commitment to engage and incorporate civil society in G20 deliberations and Summits.

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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve the world's poor — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information on their efforts, visit WorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews