SDG 2: Zero Hunger | SDG 13: Climate Action
Institutions: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | Ministry of Women and Child Development
The World Vision briefing, “The Climate Crisis is a Hunger Crisis: Filling the Policy Gap,” argues that national climate strategies are dangerously overlooking the disproportionate impact of climate change on child hunger and malnutrition. Climate-related disasters, such as relentless droughts and floods, are robbing children of food, health, and security, pushing them deeper into hunger. With over 295 million people facing acute food insecurity and 1 billion children already at extremely high risk from climate impacts, malnutrition could increase by 20% by 2050 without targeted action.
A review of 84 countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) revealed a critical policy blind spot. Alarmingly, 80% of NDCs and NAPs make no reference to any form of child hunger and malnutrition as a specific concern. While 60% mention malnutrition broadly, only 11% of documents mention malnutrition as it relates specifically to children. This omission reflects a failure to recognize the lifelong consequences of early childhood malnutrition on physical growth and cognitive development. The briefing urgently calls for embedding concrete, child-specific goals into NDCs and NAPs, highlighting that every US$1 invested in child-related Official Development Assistance yields a US$10 return.
This report provides clear evidence that national climate policy instruments (NDCs and NAPs) are fundamentally failing the principle of intergenerational equity by ignoring the specific vulnerabilities of children. It demands governments move beyond broad ambitions to make concrete, costed commitments and use child-specific indicators (like stunting and wasting) to track climate-related nutrition progress. The report presents the ongoing COP30 as a pivotal opportunity for governments to integrate these targets and ensure climate finance, including the Loss and Damage Fund, is child-responsive.
What are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)? → NDCs outline each country’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement, while NAPs focus on building resilience and adapting to climate impacts; both are key policy instruments intended to guide climate action and serve as accountability tools.
What is World Vision International? → World Vision is a well-known organization operating in nearly 100 countries and recognized globally as one of the largest private charities focused on children. It is known for its extensive work in international development, emergency relief, and child advocacy, which includes large-scale disaster response efforts and long-term community development programs.
Follow the full report here: The Climate Crisis Is a Hunger Crisis: Filling the Policy Gap