NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, August 22, 2014

“It is worth remembering that nutrition didn’t feature at all in the first set of goals. It was the forgotten MDG,” says Marc Van Ameringen.

As the world this week marks 500 days until the end of the millennium development goals (MDGs), I got an interview with the executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (Gain).

As far as Van Ameringen is concerned, the development community first snubbed nutrition some 30 years ago.

“In the 80s other global health issues had come to the fore: HIV/Aids, TB, malaria, and noncommunicable diseases. As global health took off, nutrition fell more and more out of favour. People were looking for quick fixes: a bed net, ARVs, a vaccine. Nutrition doesn’t give you that.”