Sustainable Nourishment: Obstacles and Advantages for Long-term Development and Food System Transition
The Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2025, held in the heart of Paris, brought together a diverse group of global actors, including representatives from France, Japan, governments, civil society, business, and academia. The official side event aimed to address pressing issues related to nutrition, global hunger, and their broader geopolitical and climate contexts.
Key Discussions:
The event underscored the complex interplay between nutrition, global hunger, geopolitics, conflict, and climate change. Participants stressed that conflicts and climate-related shocks severely worsen food insecurity and malnutrition, demanding coordinated responses. There was strong emphasis on the need for strengthened, smarter, and more coordinated global efforts to end malnutrition in all its forms despite declining development aid and challenging geopolitical circumstances.
The role of sustainable agrifood systems emerged as central to transforming nutrition outcomes. Financing mechanisms and systemic reforms were highlighted as vital to building resilience and ensuring food and nutrition security in vulnerable regions.
Key Figures in Attendance:
Notable attendees included H.E. Amb. Brieuc Pont, France's Special Envoy on Nutrition and Secretary-General of the Nutrition for Growth Summit, Afshan Khan, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Coordinator of SUN Movement, Dr. Lawrence Haddad, GAIN Executive Director, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, CGIAR Executive Managing Director, and H.E. Amb Ryo Nakamura, Deputy Minister, Director-General for Global Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Audrey Pulvar, City of Paris, Assistant Mayor, also graced the event with her presence.
Highlights and Outcomes:
A Q&A session followed the event, moderated by PSIA Adjunct Professor Chris Hegadorn. A video contest organized as part of the official side event was won by PSIA student Anais Servais (Master in International Governance and Diplomacy). The winning video can be watched by the public.
Civil society members, including the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN), showcased bold pledges towards meeting UN nutrition targets, highlighting the importance of inclusive and diverse stakeholder engagement. The event also showcased emerging practical agendas and white papers focused on mobilizing investments for agrifood systems transformation to combat hunger sustainably while addressing environmental and social imperatives.
Youth leadership in nutrition was recognized as a crucial element to invigorate global efforts, with examples from youth leaders in Africa illustrating the engagement of the next generation. The side event reinforced that investing in nutrition is not just a moral imperative but offers strong economic, social, and security returns, thus framing nutrition investments as strategic on a geopolitical scale.
In conclusion, the official N4G side event functioned as a strategic dialogue platform where donors, governments, civil society, and the private sector discussed aligning efforts with the realities of conflict, climate change, and political instability to accelerate progress toward global nutrition goals.
- At the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2025 in Paris, discussions revolved around the complex interplay between science, nutrition, climate change, and geopolitics, emphasizing the severe worsening of food insecurity and malnutrition due to conflicts and climate-related shocks.
- During the side event, the importance of environmental-science, particularly sustainable agrifood systems, emerged as central to transforming nutrition outcomes and building resilience in vulnerable regions.
- In policy-and-legislation, strengthened, smarter, and more coordinated global efforts were stressed as necessary to end malnutrition, despite declining development aid and challenging geopolitical circumstances.
- The event underscored the need for investment in nutrition, not only as a moral imperative but also for its strong economic, social, and security returns, framing nutrition investments as strategic on a geopolitical scale.
- Lifestyle choices, including food-and-drink decisions and general-news on nutrition, played a role in the long-term health-and-wellness of individuals and were acknowledged as essential components in the broader fight against malnutrition and global hunger.
