They are also an effective intervention during and after shocks and emergencies, helping keep children nourished and in school through crisis. An important consideration when half the world’s extreme poor now live in conflict and fragile states.

Here in Japan the championing of Shokuiku (‘food and nutrition education’) is an example for the world to follow. It incorporates health, nutrition education, social protection and community engagement to feed and educate children about the benefits and preparation of locally sourced, traditional nutritious meals.

School meals are expanding in most regions, with governments increasingly recognising the importance of formalising school meal programmes into institutional policy and connecting them with other health and nutrition initiatives and allocating domestic budgets. Investments in children’s nutrition has economic future economic gains for the whole country.

In Cambodia for example, the Home-Grown School Feeding Program has reduced food insecurity in vulnerable communities and promoted gender equality by creating income opportunities for women. Energy-efficient stoves and locally sourced foods have contributed to environmental sustainability.

Rwanda announced in 2022 that school meals coverage increased from 660,000 to 3.8 million students, and the national budget dedicated to school meals increased from $33 million to $74 million. And in Benin, the country has committed to moving towards universal school meals coverage with a national budget increase from $79 million to $240 million over the next five years.

But there is still a great deal of work to do to reach all, especially vulnerable communities and low income countries. Reaching children in fragile and conflict affected states remains a significant challenge, but one that needs urgent attention.

It is good to see the trend towards national sustainability. India is feeding some 90 million children daily and Brazil some 40 million children entirely from domestic finance. But lower income countries need more international support to match domestic financing.

Moving forward it will be important to expand school meal coverage but also to focus on healthy school environments. This includes access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, it includes strict policies that stop the sale of unhealthy foods on school grounds, promote more physical activity in the school day, nutrition education and regular health check-ups for children all help to get the best outcomes quickly.

This week’s event comes at an important time with an increased focus on nutrition stemming from COP28’s Declarations through the Summit of the Future and the launch of the new G20 Alliance on Hunger and Poverty. 2025 will be a big year for nutrition with the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris, the renewal of the WHA Nutrition Targets, UNFSS+4, the SUN Global Gathering and COP30 – all of which offer nation states and national stakeholders as well as the global community opportunities to accelerate cross-sector action for better nutrition outcomes for children, women and their families and communities.

As the world grapples with the new reality of shrinking donor funding, high debt levels, rising climate change and geopolitical challenges we will need a joined-up, systems approach that links nutrition into climate, food systems, health and education. At SUN we are actively supporting the preparations of Nutrition for Growth building on the tremendous success of the Tokyo Summit hosted by Japan. The commitments that many of your governments make will be the key to taking forward actions to build the human capital that is needed for the next generation of leaders. You will hear more about the Summit from Brieuc Pont in a moment.

Global networks such as the Global Child Nutrition Foundation play an important role by helping to build bridges across sectors, stakeholder groups, views and traditions, helping us to learn from each other and collaborate better for effective local nutrition solutions.

I want to also specifically thank the sponsors of this event (Rockefeller, CIFF, Ajinomoto, Catholic Relief Services, Food 4 Education, the foundation for Fresh Produce, Nakanishi and World Vision) for their commitment and leadership in this important area of nutrition. And I must also acknowledge the exemplary work of the School Meals Coalition co-chaired by Brazil, Finland and France working together to ensure that every child receives a healthy and nutritious daily meal in school by 2030.

Investment in nutrition is good value for money, a $1 investment can have a $23 return. And, the benefits far outweigh the costs of no action ($41 trillion over ten years according to the World Bank). Including school meals as part of a life-cycle approach that supports good nutrition at every stage of life—from breastfeeding and nutritious first foods for babies, to healthy school diets and vitamins for adolescents, especially girls—can help every child reach their full potential and build healthier, more productive societies.

I wish you an enjoyable and informative event. Thank you.”