Disability-Inclusive Nutrition Programming Saves Lives!

Nearly 240 million children worldwide live with disabilities, most in low- and middle-income countries where access to essential nutrition and feeding support is limited. Feeding difficulties, such as chewing or swallowing issues, affect up to 80% of children with disabilities, hindering growth, health, and social inclusion. Save the Children, in partnership with SPOON, is leading efforts to integrate disability inclusion into global nutrition programming, ensuring that every child has the right to adequate nutrition as enshrined in international conventions. Through initiatives like the Disability-Inclusive Management of small and nutritionally at-risk Infants (MAMI) training in Somaliland and the Disability-Inclusive Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Package, frontline healthcare workers are gaining the skills to identify, counsel, and support children and mothers with disabilities. These practical tools empower practitioners to design and deliver inclusive nutrition services that break barriers and promote equity. Save the Children calls on all humanitarian and development actors to mainstream disability inclusion across nutrition policies and programs so every child regardless of ability can survive and thrive.