No Wasted Lives May 2019 Update: No Wasted Lives Coalition members, domestic leaders, and partners continue to step up to the wasting challenge in bold and deliberate ways, and we envision a movement where many more join us. 

In April the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank launched the 2019 edition of the Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates. The numbers show a worrying trend in the prevalence of wasting in children under five.

No Wasted Lives announced today that it has appointed Amy Mayberry as Deputy Director. Ms. Mayberry brings more than 10 years of technical expertise in public health and nutrition to No Wasted Lives, where she will help drive evidence uptake, advocacy and policy engagement efforts to achieve the No Wasted Lives target of doubling the proportion of children treated for wasting by 2020.

By making the prevention and treatment of wasting in children an urgent development priority, No Wasted Lives and its partners are putting women at the centre of its work to scale up care and treatment programmes, and make the injustice of malnutrition a thing of the past.

On the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, No Wasted Lives is supporting women in the field by showcasing some of those who are at the heart of achieving the goals of the Coalition.

Welcome to the first update of 2019 for the No Wasted Lives Coalition. We remain steadfast in our support of the Sustainable Development Goals to end wasting and all forms of malnutrition, end preventable child deaths and ensure health, progress and opportunities for all children.

A New Year message from No Wasted Lives Executive Director Nabeeha Kazi

This week the State of Acute Malnutrition launched a Community of Practice on Family MUAC. This innovative approach trains mothers and other caretakers to identify early signs of malnutrition by using a simple-to-use Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape without going to a health facility or outpatient centre. The site brings together experiences from implementers and researchers around the world.

The 2018 Global Nutrition Report reveals an update on the unacceptable 'new normal' of global malnutrition for our world’s children: 150.8 million children under five are stunted, 50.5 million are wasted and 38.3 million are overweight. What is further concerning is that there are high rates of multiple forms of malnutrition co-existing in the same communities and contexts. 

Today we observe the United Nations World Children’s Day, which promotes international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improved children's welfare. World Children’s Day is also a call to action in advocating for and promoting children’s rights, to ensure a better world for children. Much progress has been made, but there is still much more to achieve, especially on the nutrition front, where we are falling short.