Bezos family announces an up to US$500 million challenge for UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) to address global child and maternal undernutrition
This fundraising challenge to individuals, governments, and philanthropies will provide essential nutrition programs and urgently needed supplies for the most vulnerable children and women
NEW YORK (March 27, 2025) – Today, global nutrition leaders met in Paris at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit to discuss how to improve access to life-saving child and maternal nutrition.
To significantly address the urgent needs of the most at-risk women and children, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the UK government and other private and public partners, established the CNF in 2023 with a goal of raising US$2 billion by 2030.
Currently, the World Bank estimates that an additional US$13 billion per year over the next 10 years (2025-2034) is needed to scale up nutrition interventions to address undernutrition globally.
The CNF is an ambitious UNICEF-led financing mechanism designed to accelerate the scale-up of evidence-based, high-impact actions to tackle critical nutrition challenges, including wasting, stunting and anemia in children and women in high-need countries. By addressing both prevention and treatment, the CNF bridges critical gaps in nutrition services, ultimately saving lives and building resilience in vulnerable communities. The CNF aims to reach 320 million children and women annually with life-changing nutrition programs.
As the Bezos family recognizes that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are the most critical for brain development, and access to adequate nutrition is essential to fostering that development, they announced today their intention to donate up to US$500 million to UNICEF USA for the CNF.
“The need is so great that no one alone can meet the urgent nutrition needs of the world’s women and kids. But we want to accelerate the change and invite others to join us in donating to the CNF. We will match each dollar donated to the CNF up to US$500 million,” said Mike Bezos. “The need is now. But we have the solutions now too. In the CNF, we have the tools to meaningfully improve the nutrition and lives of women and children globally. We just need to band together to do it immediately.”
The historic commitment of up to half a billion dollars – announced at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris today – will kickstart a match-funding mechanism to encourage other private and public donors to meet the immediate and critical nutritional needs of children and women worldwide.
Undernutrition of children and women remains a pervasive challenge globally, contributing to nearly half of all deaths in children under 5. An estimated 148 million children under 5 are affected by stunting, while 45 million more are affected by wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition where a child is too thin for their height.
“UNICEF is incredibly grateful to the Bezos family for this extraordinary contribution that will save the lives of millions of children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “It’s a powerful rallying call to address life-threatening undernutrition for children and women. The time to act is now. UNICEF calls on the global community to join this incredible effort and make a life-saving difference for children who need it most.”
We urge public and private sector donors to match this US$500 million commitment with bold contributions to the CNF, because every child and mother deserves the chance to thrive. Donations received now will be eligible for the Bezos family’s matching challenge invitation. Learn more here.
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Note to Editors:
The Bezos family announced a one-to-one US$250 million match challenge for the CNF in September 2024, with an additional US$250 million added to their match pool announced at the Nutrition for Growth Summit today, bringing the total pledge to US$500 million.
The CNF aims to reach a US$2 billion fundraising target by 2030 to support nutrition programs in 63 priority countries, primarily in Africa and Asia, and help build resilient and sustainable national nutrition systems. Working at scale, the fund maximizes and optimizes global resource allocation to mobilize additional domestic financing for nutrition and support local manufacturers to produce critical nutrition supplies. More information can be found here.
ABOUT UNICEF USA
UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. Together, we are working toward a world that upholds the rights of all children and helps every child thrive. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
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Jenna Buraczenski, UNICEF USA, Tel: +1 917 720 1432, jburaczenski@unicefusa.org
About UNICEF
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
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