Action Against Hunger has joined with other emergency relief organisations, including UNICEF and Save the Children, and donors including the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), to come together in an alliance to reach at least five million children in crisis-hit settings with essential life-saving nutrition treatment and services.
The multi-donor and multi-implementor coalition – the One Childhood, One Chance Alliance – brings together partner strengths in financing, advocacy, and implementation, to save children’s lives in challenging environments, where it’s hardest for support to reach. The coalition has already mobilised commitments of over $500 million, a critical promise for child survival in the face of declining funding for this sector. This is catalysed by a $100 million commitment from CIFF, co-financed with other funding and implementing partners, to mobilise critical resources.
At any given time, over 42 million children globally are suffering from acute malnutrition, threatening their lives and lifelong growth. A significant share of the world’s acutely malnourished children live in fragile and humanitarian contexts, where conflict, instability and shocks drive the most severe risks. The need for this coalition has been further emphasised by the current context, with another global food crisis appearing increasingly inevitable and economic volatilities testing the resilience of countries around the world.
The formation of this alliance builds on decades of experience across its partners in tackling child malnutrition. Among them, CIFF has recently enhanced its focus on delivery of nutrition services in crisis-hit settings with an initial over $40 million investment in 2025. This experience, alongside other key funders, underpins this alliance with new commitments to drive urgent coordinated action in this sector along with key delivery partners.
The alliance will focus on expanding both prevention and treatment of malnutrition, while integrating with other essential health services like malaria treatment, immunisations and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) where possible to ensure a comprehensive life-saving package for children in need in highest need geographies across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This work will be implemented by UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, ALIMA, Save the Children and others, and delivered in partnership with governments and local organisations.
While these initial surge commitments will provide immediate relief, the scale of the need is much bigger, and significant and sustained funding is needed for humanitarian nutrition. Estimates indicate that at least $1 billion is needed per year to treat malnutrition across the most vulnerable communities in the 15 most affected humanitarian countries, and an additional $1 billion to effectively prevent malnutrition and ensure food security. The Alliance welcomes new funding and implementing partners with the aim of mobilising over $1 billion to reach children in need.
Anna Hakobyan, Executive Director Nutrition and Chief Impact Officer at CIFF, said: “Rising fuel prices, the fertiliser shortage affecting planting season, and the prospect of a severe El Niño will have a profound impact in humanitarian settings, with children most likely to suffer. This timely Alliance proves that public, private and implementing partners can unite to accelerate action. Together, we must build a future where no child is forgotten in a crisis, and longer-term investments in country and community resilience are prioritised.”
Ibrahim Al Balooshi, Director of Sustainability and Partnership, MBRGI, said: “Building on the success of our Edge of Life campaign, which raised significant resources to rescue five million children from hunger, we are proud to be a part of this global effort with CIFF and other partners.”
Jean-Michel Grand, Executive Director of Action Against Hunger, said: “Acute malnutrition is both preventable and treatable, yet millions of children in crisis settings still don’t receive the care they need. The Alliance gives us the resources to collectively go further and faster. Together, we can ensure that no child misses out on life-saving nutrition treatment simply because of where they were born.”