:00:00. > :00:13.That is the end of business in the House of Commons. We will no be
:00:14. > :00:22.going over to the House of Lords. In a world where we will not be able to
:00:23. > :00:30.join forces not necessarily any coherent way. A lot of our aid goes
:00:31. > :00:39.through our relationship with the EU. What consideration has been
:00:40. > :00:48.given to the changing attitude of the new administration in the United
:00:49. > :00:53.States of America with regard to aid and the institutions of the United
:00:54. > :01:01.Nations? I think these are things that we need to think about. I too
:01:02. > :01:09.would like to thank her for would like to thank her for
:01:10. > :01:25.initiating this debate. It follows on from the questions earlier today.
:01:26. > :01:33.There is a consensus on the 0.7%. The reason for this consensus is
:01:34. > :01:35.very practical. It allows the United Kingdom to support long-term
:01:36. > :01:41.sustainable projects which really make a difference to the lives of
:01:42. > :01:46.the clueless people on the planet. Our commitment to improve the new
:01:47. > :01:54.nutrition of 50 million people is a good example of that. I would like
:01:55. > :01:59.the Prime Minister to be a great thing about this in the newspapers.
:02:00. > :02:13.It is these issues we need to focus on. I appreciate her for initiating
:02:14. > :02:19.this debate. Good nutrition, as we appear, is the foundation for
:02:20. > :02:30.sustainable development. Building health and resilience. 12 of the
:02:31. > :02:38.countries -- indicators highlighted by the United Nations are key to
:02:39. > :02:48.nutrition. Nutrition interventions promote economic development. It
:02:49. > :02:56.every $1 invested sees $16 returned an investment.
:02:57. > :03:03.That is the key message we should be putting into the media to respond to
:03:04. > :03:11.some of the ridiculous arguments that have been made. Countries lose
:03:12. > :03:17.at least 10% of their GDP because of malnutrition. It stagnates
:03:18. > :03:22.personnel, societal and national development, that is why it is so
:03:23. > :03:28.key to progress. As we have heard for women and girls were often the
:03:29. > :03:31.most vulnerable to undernutrition, nutrition interventions are crucial
:03:32. > :03:41.to support their full development potential. When you think of this
:03:42. > :03:48.specific goal to end Hunter, a chief said security and improve nutrition
:03:49. > :03:56.and target 22 that by 2030, end all forms of malnutrition and achieving
:03:57. > :04:02.by 2025 international targets on wasting in children under five years
:04:03. > :04:10.of age and address nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and
:04:11. > :04:16.lactating women and older women. Older women are particularly
:04:17. > :04:21.vulnerable to malnutrition and attempts to provide them with
:04:22. > :04:27.adequate nutrition encounter many practical problems. The problems are
:04:28. > :04:34.not well defined, ageing effects, nutrient needs, some needs increase
:04:35. > :04:41.while others decrease. Good nutritional status reduces maternal
:04:42. > :04:49.deaths. It improves school outcomes and contributes to delete manage and
:04:50. > :04:51.pregnancy. It saves lives. Improving potential and promoting progress
:04:52. > :04:59.alongside intergenerational health and prosperity. The own strip -- the
:05:00. > :05:03.onset of menstruation in girls results in a much higher demand of
:05:04. > :05:09.nutrients. When they do not receive the nutrients it can reach -- B2
:05:10. > :05:16.anaemia, cause fatigue, dizziness and weight loss and reduced
:05:17. > :05:25.immunity. Impact on maternal health is irrefutable. Micronutrients and
:05:26. > :05:32.lack of energy during pregnancy can cause complications and
:05:33. > :05:39.haemorrhages. Nutritional deficiencies can also contribute to
:05:40. > :05:44.foetal birth defects and or newborn mortality. Improving nutrition
:05:45. > :05:47.alongside good antenatal care can improve these numbers dramatically.
:05:48. > :05:54.There is no doubt about that. Good nutrition is crucial to unlocking
:05:55. > :05:57.the potential of women and girls across the life-cycle and giving
:05:58. > :06:03.them the best opportunities to become active members of their
:06:04. > :06:09.community. As my noble friend highlighted, around half of the
:06:10. > :06:11.deaths can be attributed to underlying malnutrition.
:06:12. > :06:16.Malnourished children are nine times more likely to die of common
:06:17. > :06:23.childhood infections such as pneumonia and diarrhoea. It is key
:06:24. > :06:30.to changing the prospects of many and in low income countries, 37.6%
:06:31. > :06:35.of children under five are stunted. These children are likely to grow
:06:36. > :06:42.into stunted adolescence. Stunted adolescent girls faced a higher risk
:06:43. > :06:46.of pregnancy related complications and one of the leading causes of
:06:47. > :06:52.death among the demographic. Over 2 billion people suffer from Micro
:06:53. > :06:57.nutrition deficiencies, anaemia often the result of iron
:06:58. > :07:01.deficiencies affects 500 million women of reproductive age and is
:07:02. > :07:09.responsible for nearly 20% of maternal deaths in 21 countries out
:07:10. > :07:15.of 41 with anaemia prevalent, more than one third of adolescent girls
:07:16. > :07:21.are anaemic. Undernutrition has devastating impact on physical and
:07:22. > :07:25.development potential of girls. Malnourished adolescents go on to
:07:26. > :07:31.lose and then 10% of their lifetime earnings as adults, affecting the
:07:32. > :07:35.economic development of these countries which is so vital if we
:07:36. > :07:45.are to change and challenge poverty in our world. As my noble friend and
:07:46. > :07:51.Baroness mentor said, we can be proud of the United Kingdom leading
:07:52. > :08:01.role in the world in the fight against malnutrition. This
:08:02. > :08:07.commitment was renewed in the recent bilateral development review and we
:08:08. > :08:16.spoke about that in this chamber. Following on from the 2013, UK
:08:17. > :08:24.hosted the inaugural nutrition for growth conference in London and met
:08:25. > :08:29.financial commitments. 655 million for a nutrition specific
:08:30. > :08:36.interventions and 604,000,004 interventions until 2020. As the
:08:37. > :08:44.noble lady said, the government as part of its manifesto pledge in
:08:45. > :08:52.2015, pledged to improve the nutrition of 50 million children
:08:53. > :08:59.under five and adolescent girls in developing countries by 2020.
:09:00. > :09:04.Despite this, despite these commitments, the world is not on
:09:05. > :09:12.track to reach the 2025 global nutrition targets. These are the
:09:13. > :09:19.issues that we need fundamentally to address. I welcome DFID plans to
:09:20. > :09:31.improve nutrition, their target by 2020 but I urge them to commit the
:09:32. > :09:36.government to invest a further 530 after 2020. I think DFID should
:09:37. > :09:41.rapidly disburses 2013 commitments to nutrition and increase its
:09:42. > :09:49.commitment to nutrition because it is that key to development. I think
:09:50. > :09:54.?513 million of new money should be invested between 2016 and 2020
:09:55. > :09:59.because good nutrition, as we know, has a significant impact on
:10:00. > :10:04.improving women's economic development as well as their health.
:10:05. > :10:10.What is needed is an integrated approach which delivers nutrition as
:10:11. > :10:16.part of a package of wider health interventions and improves the value
:10:17. > :10:23.for money of health investments. I hope that the Minister will support
:10:24. > :10:29.the scaling up of nutrition specific interventions to tackle all forms of
:10:30. > :10:35.malnutrition and the integration of these interventions into the design
:10:36. > :10:38.and delivery of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and
:10:39. > :10:45.adolescent health and other health programmes. In 2015, the government
:10:46. > :10:52.made a commitment to leave no one behind in its development programme.
:10:53. > :10:57.DFID should ensure that nutrition, is targeted and improved for the
:10:58. > :11:03.most vulnerable and hardest to reach. Does the noble Lord agree
:11:04. > :11:08.that to do this DFID should produce disaggregated data for prioritising
:11:09. > :11:15.investments with a focus on high birth, irrespective of all middle
:11:16. > :11:22.income status and allocate resources to strengthen nutrition and national
:11:23. > :11:33.information systems to ensure we have that proper and adequate data?
:11:34. > :11:39.Can I join other noble Lords in paying tribute to my noble friend
:11:40. > :11:43.for securing this debate. It is something which I know is dear to
:11:44. > :11:48.our heart. She has devoted her professional life to this and she is
:11:49. > :11:54.bringing her professional experience in to your lordship's has. I know
:11:55. > :11:59.that her convening of the round table before Christmas was a very
:12:00. > :12:04.helpful exchange of views for different officials who attended in
:12:05. > :12:14.shaping our policy in relation to this. I also thank Lady Thornton for
:12:15. > :12:18.her comments for her thoughtful contribution and other contributions
:12:19. > :12:25.from the Labour benches. They rightly point out that nutrition is
:12:26. > :12:33.the building block upon all other developments that we see. It is
:12:34. > :12:36.crucially important as an issue, not only in sustainable development
:12:37. > :12:46.goals but also in being recognised as a women's issue as we lead up to
:12:47. > :12:51.the international day of women. Just as an aside in that regard, I hope
:12:52. > :12:55.that the House will bear with me, I was disappointed we have not heard
:12:56. > :13:00.from the Liberal Democrat benches. There is no one here from there.
:13:01. > :13:06.Normally I would not make reference to that but because I have had
:13:07. > :13:11.reference to extra information as to why that might be the case, I do
:13:12. > :13:16.want to put on record this is an important issue and we should be
:13:17. > :13:20.able to focus on an issue which is central to development and make sure
:13:21. > :13:25.our voices are heard. Malnutrition still affects one in three people
:13:26. > :13:29.globally. It is holding back the growth and development of people and
:13:30. > :13:34.countries. Women affected by undernutrition are more likely to
:13:35. > :13:37.give birth to small babies, will be disadvantaged throughout their
:13:38. > :14:02.lives. Undernourished children are more likely to die
:14:03. > :14:06.young. They account for 45% of under five deaths. Children have or
:14:07. > :14:07.lifetime earnings and are more likely to have undernourished
:14:08. > :14:10.children themselves. The economic consequences represent a loss to GDP
:14:11. > :14:12.of 10% year-on-year whereas every pound spent has an estimated return
:14:13. > :14:16.in increased incomes and economic growth. Therefore tackling malamute
:14:17. > :14:20.tradition is crucial to reaching 1012 global goals, eradicating
:14:21. > :14:26.disease, empowering, all which will only happen if their free from mild
:14:27. > :14:31.patrician. A healthy and prosperous stable world is less likely whilst
:14:32. > :14:35.malnutrition persists. Nutrition is a long-term development challenge
:14:36. > :14:43.but is also an immediate humanitarian challenge. In 2017, the
:14:44. > :14:47.world is facing humanitarian needs, with one famine in south Sudan to
:14:48. > :14:52.clear to date and a response from this government to that but also a
:14:53. > :14:58.call to arms for the international community to respond much more
:14:59. > :15:04.effectively and urgently to the challenge already inside Zidane and
:15:05. > :15:09.just around the corner in Somalia. And we believe in north-east Nigeria
:15:10. > :15:14.and Yemen. The international community must get much more there
:15:15. > :15:20.at the forefront of these issues but as the noble Lord said, we can be
:15:21. > :15:30.proud of the fact that the UK is leading in this year and we support
:15:31. > :15:34.the remarks of the Secretary of State to the international community
:15:35. > :15:38.made today. UK aid Underground is saving lives and we call on
:15:39. > :15:42.international community to step up their support. The longer we wait,
:15:43. > :15:46.the higher the price humanity will have to pay. For all these reasons,
:15:47. > :15:52.improving nutrition of women and girls is a top priority all
:15:53. > :15:56.developing countries. For these reasons, I nutrition for growth
:15:57. > :16:07.Summit which my colleagues referred to in 2013, that we held and pledged
:16:08. > :16:13.programmes to back it is for these reasons in 2015 that the government
:16:14. > :16:18.committed to the nutrition of 50 million people, women, girls and
:16:19. > :16:23.children by 2020 globally. Deliver late -- delivering this result will
:16:24. > :16:29.be the priority for DFID. I'm pleased to say we are on track to
:16:30. > :16:33.that. That is thanks to the work we're doing to scale up Newt --
:16:34. > :16:40.nutrition across the 20 priority countries that we have. We are far
:16:41. > :16:44.from complacent in the coming months. The Secretary of State will
:16:45. > :16:49.be launching a new UK position paper on nutrition which will set out
:16:50. > :16:55.further accelerated and intensified action. The noble Lord invited me to
:16:56. > :17:01.see more about what the financial resource behind that might be. He
:17:02. > :17:07.will have to be, like me, patient to see that coming forward but I hope
:17:08. > :17:11.it will be something that there is cross-party support on. Our new
:17:12. > :17:16.approach will be built on the latest evidence which shows clearly that is
:17:17. > :17:20.a basic package of things that need to be done to most effectively
:17:21. > :17:26.tackle malnutrition which includes that a and zinc supplements for
:17:27. > :17:34.children. Maternal micronutrient supplements, breast-feeding
:17:35. > :17:38.promotion, education and around complimentary feeding and specific
:17:39. > :17:43.management of acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form of
:17:44. > :17:47.malnutrition. The emphasis is on focusing on girls and boys under
:17:48. > :17:52.five years as this is where malnutrition has the biggest impact
:17:53. > :17:58.on children's future potential and can be the most easily prevented. It
:17:59. > :18:06.is increasingly clear that for maximum impact we need to focus on
:18:07. > :18:11.adolescent girls, both for their own benefit and to prevent malnutrition
:18:12. > :18:20.in future generations. We need to ensure that the wider portfolio,
:18:21. > :18:22.Bute health, water or agriculture programmes are addressing
:18:23. > :18:35.malnutrition at the same time as hitting other objectives.
:18:36. > :18:42.Subtitles continue later this evening.