The case for a global nutrition outcomes fund

More than 160 million children are stunted, representing an enormous loss of both human and economic potential.

Published:25 March 2020

Updated:16 January 2023

At the current slow rate of progress, the World Health Organisation estimates that there will still be 127 million stunted children by 2025, the vast majority in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This is a long way from the 2025 Sustainable Development Goals target of 100 million.

Recent estimates suggest that global targets for reducing stunting could be met at a cost of just $8.50 per child if high levels of effectiveness and efficiency can be achieved at scale.

This report, the first in our Outcomes-Based Approaches series, explores how the strong incentives to focus on results and adaptive delivery offered by an Outcomes Fund can achieve such effectiveness and efficiency.