African leaders and international development partners have called for increased domestic investment in child survival and nutrition amid concerns over a projected rise in deaths from preventable causes.

The call was made during a high level side event held on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The event, “Our Children Cannot Wait: Leadership for Child Survival and Nutrition,” was convened by King Letsie III of Lesotho, the African Union Nutrition Champion, in partnership with Nutrition International and the Government of Canada.

The meeting brought together representatives from African governments, Canada, France, Ireland, the United Nations, philanthropy and global health institutions to discuss child survival, nutrition and the changing global aid environment.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, participated in discussions on the country’s approach to child survival and nutrition, including the mobilisation of domestic resources and strengthening of country ownership. Duale shared Kenya’s progress in reducing under-five mortality from 115 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 41 in 2022, while stunting declined from 36 per cent to 18 per cent over the same period.

Despite this progress, Dule noted that poverty, climate pressures and regional inequalities continue to drive malnutrition, with

Duale also cited school meal programs as one of the interventions the government plans to scale, from 2.6 million to 10 million learners by 2030, while strengthening investment in the first 1,000 days, nurturing care, early childhood development and social protection.

President William Ruto said Kenya’s development agenda beyond Vision 2030 should place greater emphasis on human capital, including child nutrition. He pointed to county led nutrition action plans as a way of identifying priorities, mobilising resources and addressing the needs of women and children at community level.

According to figures presented at the meeting, more than 30 million children could die from preventable causes over the next five years if current trends are not reversed. Malnutrition is estimated to account for roughly half of those deaths, while Africa could account for about 18 million of the projected deaths.

Nutrition International President and CEO Joel Spicer said the discussions demonstrated what he described as increasing ownership of the child survival and nutrition agenda by African governments, including setting priorities and increasing domestic resources.

The organisation, which has worked with governments for more than 30 years, said it would continue supporting country led efforts to improve nutrition and child survival. Nutrition International currently works in more than 60 countries, primarily in Africa and Asia, supporting governments to strengthen systems for delivering nutrition interventions.

The meeting also produced a Child Survival Principles and Call to Action, which highlights domestic financing, aligned partnerships and accountability as key priorities. The document calls on international partners to support existing country led programmes rather than establishing parallel initiatives.

The organisers said the New York meeting is part of a longer process. Leaders and partners are expected to reconvene at the Doha Forum in December to discuss concrete commitments and further develop country led financing and delivery models.