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Child food poverty has reached a critical tipping point globally – and Asia faces some of the most urgent challenges. According to UNICEF’s latest Child Food Poverty: Nutrition deprivation in early childhood report 2024, one in four children in countries like India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines live in severe food poverty. These children make up a huge portion of the global crisis.
UNICEF defines child food poverty as the inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood. This issue stems from multiple factors, including growing inequities, income poverty, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, aggressive food marketing strategies, and poor feeding habits.
The impact is most devastating in early childhood when inadequate nutrients – such as surviving on just one or two food groups a day – can severely hinder a child’s survival, growth, and cognitive development. These early deficits trap families in a cycle of poverty that spans generations.
The power of systemic interventions
Addressing child food poverty is key to breaking the cycle and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for nutrition.[1] While traditional efforts have focused on improving food systems, this approach alone is no longer enough. We need a more holistic strategy that combines interventions across food, health, and social protection systems. To reach their full potential, children need the five interrelated and indivisible components of nurturing care: good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving and opportunities for learning.
Healthcare systems play a vital role. They provide essential nutrition services, including information, counseling, and support for child feeding. By bolstering health systems, we can ensure that children not only have access to nutritious food but also receive the necessary services they need to thrive, including immunisation and growth monitoring.
Currently, three out of four children worldwide lack access to social protection, leaving millions vulnerable to economic hardship such as household income poverty, malnutrition, and social exclusion. Where social protection programs exist, they are often fragmented, underfunded, and disconnected from nutrition services.[2] Strengthening these systems can shield children from further hardship.
Responsive caregiving and early stimulation contribute to children’s brain development and lay down the foundation for later learning. Serve and return interactions between caregivers and babies reinforce brain circuits that are at the core of children’s early emotional well-being and social skills.
Driving change through partnerships
At Tanoto Foundation, we’re committed to tackling child food poverty by working closely with public, private and philanthropic partners. We believe that strong partnerships are critical to changing systems.
Child stunting is one of our focus areas. Since 2018, we have supported and collaborated with the government of Indonesia, and partners including the Gates Foundation, UNICEF and The World Bank, to reduce the stunting rates in Indonesia. Our programs focus on several levers: training frontline workers, changing parenting mindsets and attitudes, enhancing government spending efficiency and creating a platform for government leaders at different ministries and across sub-national, national, and regional levels to collaborate and deliver holistic interventions at the household level.
In 2021, we partnered with UNICEF Indonesia to launch ‘Unlocking Future Potential with Nutrition: Towards Zero Stunting in Indonesia’. The four-year program provides technical assistance to Central Java and South Sulawesi, focusing on capacity development of local government and health workers, and public education. It aims to benefit 4.5 million pregnant women and families and over 10 million health workers and community volunteers across 48 districts. Changing systems require many empowered change agents.
Towards zero stunting in Indonesia
While stunting rates have decreased from 31 percent in 2018 to 22 percent in 2023, there are still over five million stunted children under five. Achieving the government’s target of five percent by 2045 requires continued effort.
In light of this, Indonesia recently launched a Free Nutritious Meal Program to address child malnutrition and stunting. This initiative, led by President Prabowo, aims to provide nutritious meals to nearly 90 million children and pregnant women across over 400,000 schools nationwide. As the work involves multiple levels of government, as well as cross-ministerial coordination, a new agency at the national level, National Nutrition Agency (BGN), has been established. This centralised agency reports directly to the President and will assist in coordination and cutting through red tape.
Lessons for global application
Indonesia’s experience offers valuable lessons for other countries. These lessons include creating urgency and securing buy-in from all levels of government leaders, establishing forums for multiple stakeholder collaboration, and empowering local leaders and frontline workers with the knowledge, skills and resources to service their communities effectively.
By adopting these strategies, countries can combat child food poverty and improve nutrition outcomes, paving the way for a healthier future for all children.
Looking ahead
Fighting child food poverty requires more than just food – it demands a united approach that ensures families have access to health services, education, and support to break the cycle of poverty.
There’s a growing need for coordinated efforts that leverage shared expertise, expanded networks, and knowledge exchange at the global level. At Tanoto Foundation, we aim to facilitate this exchange by partnering with various university research centres and early childhood associations to disseminate and share best practices.
Belinda Tanoto is a member of the UNICEF International Council, as well as a member of the Tanoto Foundation Board of Trustees.
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