Health & nutrition

Each $1 invested in nutrition has an up to $35 benefit to the economy and, on average, every dollar invested in vaccination provides a return of $54 in broader economic benefits.

For every 100,000 children fed, up to 1,377 jobs are created.

Well-nourished children are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults.

At any given time, around 45 million children are facing child wasting, one of the most acute forms of malnutrition, and almost half of all child deaths globally are linked to undernutrition. Evidence-backed and cost-effective interventions offer a more than 90% recovery rate for uncomplicated malnutrition, effectively saving millions of children across the world.

For example, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns die each year, mostly from preventable causes — that is equal to one death every 11 seconds. However, 83% of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths could be prevented through sufficient numbers of trained healthcare staff.

In Africa, where one in three (519 million) people are at risk of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)…

…households collectively lose out on $33 billion each year from out-of-pocket health costs and lost wages, with negative knock-on effects for whole economies.

But elimination is possible: as of April 2026, 58 countries have eliminated at least one NTD – 24 of which were in Africa.

Elimination of the 5PC NTDs (those treated with preventative chemotherapy) in Africa will result in the mitigation of 18 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by 2030, with potential to exceed 58 million by 2050 and 93 million in the long run.

Each $1 invested in NTD programmes delivers up to $25 in community benefits.

Improving nutrition among children enables them to learn, improves education outcomes, and allows them to realise their full potential.

School feeding programmes have been found to increase school enrolment by up to 9%. They also reduce the prevalence of anaemia in girls by up to 20% – ensuring all children have the nutrition they need to thrive in school and into the future.