Ethiopia launches groundbreaking UN initiative to prevent child wasting

The Federal Ministry of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP), officially launched the Joint UN Initiative for the Prevention of Wasting (JUNIPr) in Ethiopia. The initiative aims to accelerate national efforts to prevent child wasting-a severe and life-threatening form of malnutrition that affects more than 11% of Ethiopian children under five.

The four-day Co-Creation Workshop, taking place in Adama Town from 17-20 July 2025, marks the first step in a five-year multisectoral initiative to design, test, and scale evidence-based interventions to prevent wasting in children aged 0 to 18 months. JUNIPr is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and is being piloted in Ethiopia, Mali, and Bangladesh.

"Wasting is one of the most urgent yet under-addressed public health threats facing our children," said Mrs. Hiwot Dersane, Ministry of Health official (Nutrition Lead Executive Office-LEO) during the opening session. "This initiative is about prevention, integration, and long-term solutions. It is time for Ethiopia to lead the way."

JUNIPr builds on the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting and the newly released 2023 WHO Guidelines, focusing on:

• Evidence generation through robust research led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI);
• Development of locally tailored intervention packages grounded in the realities of Ethiopian communities.
• Systems strengthening across health, food, water/sanitation (WASH), social protection and other sectors.
• Policy influence at national and global levels to ensure that wasting prevention becomes a public health priority.

"JUNIPr represents a shift in how we address malnutrition-moving from response to prevention, from fragmentation to integration," said Dr. Bejoy Nambiar, UHC Cluster Lead, WHO. "Through this partnership, we can ensure no child suffers from wasting unnecessarily."

UNICEF and WFP representatives also emphasised the importance of coordinated multisectoral efforts to prevent malnutrition.

Over 40 participants are attending the workshop, including representatives from regional health bureaus, multiple line ministries, academic institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, and technical experts across key sectors. The workshop includes in-depth discussions, problem analysis, policy mapping, and breakout sessions to begin shaping a comprehensive prevention package.

The next stage will include in-depth context analysis, data review, and a second national workshop in early 2026 to finalize the intervention package. Ethiopia's experience will serve as a model for other countries seeking to address wasting through a systems-based, collaborative approach.

About JUNIPr

The Joint UN Initiative for the Prevention of Wasting (JUNIPr) is a multi-year, multi-country partnership between UNICEF, WFP, and WHO, supported by the FCDO. It aims to prevent wasting among children 0-18 months in food-insecure settings by identifying and scaling effective, multisectoral solutions. JUNIPr is currently being piloted in Ethiopia, Mali, and Bangladesh.