THE CHILD NUTRITION FUND
YOUR DONATIONS MATCHED BY THE CHILDREN’S INVESTMENT FUND FOUNDATION
This year, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation will double every donation made to Soccer Aid for UNICEF – up to £5million.
Children need the right food at the right time so their brains and bodies develop the way they should. When this happens, they have better life chances; they do better in school, and they grow into happier, healthier adults.
When this doesn’t happen, children get malnourished, which can slow down their development and makes it harder to fight off illnesses. It can prevent them from their chance to just be children, and of their right to play. In the worst cases it can take away their futures.
Malnutrition can affect children in different ways:
- Stunting: When children don’t get the nutrients they need as they grow up, often even before being born
- Wasting: When children lose weight rapidly because of a sudden lack of nutritious food, and can lead to the child’s death if left untreated
- Obesity: When children get too much of the wrong food
If left untreated, malnutrition can slow down a child’s development, making it harder for them to fight off illnesses or to thrive in school. It can rob them of the energy to play. In the worst cases it can take away their futures.
Many countries are facing a ‘triple burden’, with their children affected by stunting, wasting and by obesity. Micronutrient deficiencies are also widespread, affecting 1 in 2 children globally. Around the world, children’s diets are being hit by poverty and inequality, globalisation and urbanisation, climate change and environmental crises, epidemics, and emergencies.
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation in preventing and treating all forms of undernutrition. Since 1990, the percentage of undernourished children worldwide has almost halved; and with the support of our partners, UNICEF has supported treatment for more than 6 million children with severe acute malnutrition.
But we still have a lot of work to do.
That’s why CIFF’s support to Soccer Aid for UNICEF can make a life-saving difference.
And when you support Soccer Aid for UNICEF, you will join the global efforts to ensure every child has access to the nutrition they need so they can grow up happy, healthy, and able to play. Just like children should.
A donation of £40 could help provide enough life-saving therapeutic food for three children for one week.
THE CHILD NUTRITION FUND
CIFF’s support for Soccer Aid for UNICEF will go directly to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) -a UNICEF-led coordination and funding mechanism that transforms how we address undernutrition by tackling challenges such as stunting, wasting, and anaemia in children and women. The money raised will help children get the nutrition they need to grow up healthy, strong and able to play. CIFF has supported the Child Nutrition Fund since it was set up.
This innovative funding mechanism mobilises resources to scale up sustainable, evidence-based policies, programmes, and supplies.
But the CNF is not just about funding – it’s also supporting countries to lead the charge in improving child nutrition and achieving their national goals while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
By combining international donor funding with domestic investments, the CNF helps to ensure that every child and woman has access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.
The CNF’s ambitious goals align with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular goal 2: Zero Hunger and to end all forms of malnutrition.
The CNF will help to scale-up five essential actions, led by governments and implemented in communities.
THE FIVE ESSENTIAL ACTIONS OF THE CHILD NUTRITION FUND
By supporting Soccer Aid for UNICEF, you will join the global efforts to end undernutrition once and for all.
Together, we can transform how we protect children from life-threatening wasting in early life so they can grow up healthy, strong and able to play. Just like children should.
ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S INVESTMENT FUND FOUNDATION
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation working towards a world where children are healthy, safe and have opportunities and, in turn, a world that is prosperous and secure for everyone. Together with partners, they catalyse systemic change, which is locally owned and aligned with the sustainable development goals.
Support for exclusive and continued breastfeeding in the first two years of a child's life. This includes counselling, support and care for those breastfeeding.
Provision of adequate complimentary foods, with micronutrient supplements and small quantity lipid-based food supplements.
Provision of micronutrient supplementation for children, including vitamin A and deworming prophylaxis.
Early detection of severe wasting using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurement and treatment with ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) through community-based programmes, with adequate training, supervision and referral.
A donation of £20 could help provide three toddlers with multiple micronutrient sprinkles for one year so they can grow healthy and strong.