Elevating Local Voices to Global Heights through Nutrition Dialogues

By David Nabarro, Strategic Director of 4SD Foundation and Dan Irvine, Global Director, Health and Nutrition, World Vision International.

The 2024 analysis of the State of Food Insecurity and malnutrition in our world was released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization on July 24th. Arriving less than a year before the end of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris, March 2025, it offers a disturbing series of messages. One in 11 people in our world are hungry. Far too many of them are children. The level has stayed high for three successive years. The proportion is one out of every five in Africa, where hunger is also on the rise. The urgency to address nutrition challenges has never been greater.

That is why World Vision International and the 4SD Foundation have introduced the Nutrition Dialogues programme – an initiative aimed at amplifying the voices of those most at risk of malnutrition and elevating them to the highest levels in time for the Paris Summit.

While preparations are underway with global stakeholders for the next wave of critical nutrition policies and investments, the Nutrition Dialogues will enable investors to make decisions from the perspective of a mother with an undernourished family struggling to achieve nutrition in her own community. Building on the experience of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit Dialogues, the Nutrition Dialogues programme is designed to bring the lived experiences and perspectives of at-risk communities to the forefront – a human-centered approach to investment prioritization. The programme features two main event types:

• Stakeholder Dialogues: These events explore local nutritional contexts, identifying impactful interventions and prioritising actions to improve nutrition. Participants from various backgrounds come together to share their insights and propose solutions tailored to their unique environments. These dialogues will reach diverse participants, such as mothers, farmers, entrepreneurs and faith actors.
• Children’s Workshops: Aimed at young people aged 12 to 18, these workshops provide a platform for children to focus on nourishment and exchange ideas on how to enhance nutrition in their communities. The Nutrition Dialogues will raise the profile of good nutrition. They will connect people around the world, expose their concerns, distil their ideas, carry their messages and stimulate action with accountability.

The Nutrition Dialogues will bring the concerns and recommendations of mothers and children to policymakers and practitioners. Their voices will be aggregated amongst thousands to provide a collective call to action in specific alignment with their own needs and wants. Women, youth and children, in particular, will be empowered as our next-generation nutrition champions.

The programme will include at least 200 events worldwide during 2024, across 50 countries and engaging at least 6,000 participants. That number could be increased greatly as additional partners become involved.

The Dialogues are facilitated to give them depth and focus. The success of this initiative rests on the broadest possible partner mobilization, stakeholder convening, and community engagement. The outcomes are powerful stimuli for change that draw on lived experiences of those most at risk. They are adapted to local realities while reflecting common principles – including acceptance of, and respect for, different perspectives.

We call on all Partners to help elevate the voices of those experiencing or at risk of malnutrition so they reach the highest levels of national and global decision-making. All interested are encouraged to join the Nutrition Dialogues programme to identify Convenors and organise meaningful events. The Nutrition Dialogues will impact decisions that make a lasting difference in the nutrition landscape, empower thousands to lead the next generation of nutrition championship in their communities and countries, and foster well-nourished futures for all.

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Learn more at the Nutrition Dialogues Portal: nutritiondialogues.org

Organisations wanting to become Mobilising Partners are invited to contact the Nutrition Dialogues team at info@nutritiondialogues.org.