Written questions by Race.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Healthy Women, Children and Newborns: A Coordinated Approach to Ending Preventable Deaths, published on 6 November 2025, what role the Child Nutrition Fund is playing in her Department’s updated approach to ending preventable deaths.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 November to Question 89032, which sets out the UK's approach to improving nutrition for women and children, including our role as a proud co-founder and Board member of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has disbursed £16.7 million in total to the Child Nutrition Fund since its inception in 2020. Of this £13 million has been disbursed through the Child Nutrition Fund's match window, £1 million through the programme window and £2.7 million through the supplier window.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the UK's funding to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) has been disbursed through the CNF's (a) programme window and (b) match window.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 November to Question 89032, which sets out the UK's approach to improving nutrition for women and children, including our role as a proud co-founder and Board member of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has disbursed £16.7 million in total to the Child Nutrition Fund since its inception in 2020. Of this £13 million has been disbursed through the Child Nutrition Fund's match window, £1 million through the programme window and £2.7 million through the supplier window.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the level of therapeutic food procured through UK Overseas Development Assistance (a) directly by the Government and (b) by third party partners, in the latest year for which information is available.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not directly procure therapeutic foods and does not currently hold data on the quantity of therapeutic foods procured by third-party partners using FCDO funds.Therapeutic foods are primarily procured as part of nutrition-related humanitarian programming. Expenditure on nutrition-related humanitarian programming is captured in the FCDO's annual nutrition accountability reports, which are published 18 months in arrears. The most recent report covers spend from 2022, totalling £238.5 million. This figure which includes funding for food assistance and therapeutic foods, should be viewed as a proxy indicator of the level of investment in such products, rather than a direct measure of procurement. Data on nutrition-related spend for 2023 will be published in Autumn 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report, published on 28 July 2025, what steps his Department plans to take to support initiatives to close the financing gap for (a) food security and (b) nutrition.

We are committed to addressing global food insecurity and malnutrition, this includes working to scale-up finance from diverse sources towards more sustainable, nutritious, and resilient food systems. We leverage financial reforms and systems change through the International Financial Institutions and the UN system, and crowd in private and philanthropic investment. This must be done in partnership. We are supporting global initiatives and new approaches to partnership with the Global South, like the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration to accelerate action and unlock finance. The UK is also a co-founder of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) and remains committed to its success. The CNF supports partner governments in scaling up a range of high-impact nutrition interventions, including provision of ready-to-use therapeutic foods for the treatment of wasting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report published on 28 July 2005, what assessment he has made of the implications for his his policies of the projection that 512 million people will be chronically food insecure in 2030.

The persisting high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition referenced in the report are deeply concerning. We are committed to addressing these, working alongside partners to address urgent humanitarian need and support long-term solutions for food and nutrition security.We are working to better prevent crises and reduce reliance on emergency aid through early action and resilience building, last year enabling hundreds of thousands of food-insecure households to build resilience to climate and other shocks.Through our partnerships, like the ones with the Gates Foundation and CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research), we are investing in science and innovation, helping increase nutritious yields for farmers, while protecting critical ecosystems.We do this in partnership, supporting global initiatives like the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration to accelerate action and unlock much-needed finance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help accelerate progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 by 2030.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are tackling the catastrophic hunger and malnutrition seen in Sudan, Gaza and beyond. We are also working to reduce the need for humanitarian assistance, supporting long-term solutions for food and nutrition security which boost economies and protect the environment. Last year, we enabled hundreds of thousands of food-insecure households to build resilience to climate and other shocks. We have invested in science and innovation for resilient food security in UK and across Africa. Our partnerships with the Gates Foundation and Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) help increase nutritious yields for farmers, while protecting critical ecosystems.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that affected local people are included in the delivery of Official Development Assistance.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) takes a comprehensive and inclusive approach to the delivery of Overseas Development Aid, with a focus on ensuring that affected local people are actively involved in all stages of the programme cycle. The Programme Operating Framework sets out the FCDO's approach to programme management - including the mandatory rules, principles, roles and responsibilities and governance. This emphasises the importance of beneficiary engagement to improve outcomes - and ensuring interventions are context-specific, good value for money and transparent. It also highlights the importance of ensuring beneficiaries are safe from harm, as well as being empowered to speak out if harm is done through established feedback mechanisms. Additionally, the FCDO collaborates with local partners to understand their capacity and ensure sustainable interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to invest in (a) prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation, (b) breastfeeding (i) promotion and (ii) support, (c) vitamin A supplementation and (d) other early nutrition interventions.

The FCDO supports the scale up of evidence-based interventions to tackle maternal and child malnutrition. Through the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), the FCDO supports the procurement and distribution of micronutrient supplements - Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) - for children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women (PLW). This includes a recent contribution to a $60 million match funding arrangement with the Government of Nigeria, and promotion of exclusive and continued breastfeeding. The FCDO funds the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to increase access to maternal micronutrient supplements in selected low- and middle-income countries.