Ethiopia faces persistent malnutrition and emerging diet-related challenges. Nutrition for Growth (N4G), a pledging movement in which the world’s leaders have committed to centre nutrition, offers a platform to mobilize multisectoral action and accountability. GAIN offers technical expertise in food systems and nutrition governance, to support Ethiopia translate its national strategies in its goal of supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) in accelerating its progress towards Food System Transformation.
At the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris this March- the Ethiopian government pledged to accelerate its existing strategies. GAIN Ethiopia, through the Nourishing Food Pathways project, actively contributed to Ethiopia’s N4G Paris 2025 Commitment and Action Plan during both the drafting and validation stages. GAIN supported the Ministry of Health’s SUN Multi-Stakeholder Platform and networks, to conduct a review and separate validation workshop.
At the summit, the government announced 15 commitments, 12 political (8 renewed, 4 new) and 3 financial (1 renewed, 2 new). These commitments can be found in the full commitment book, and include:
- Reduce prevalence of stunting in under five children from 39% to 23.4% by 2030
- Reduce prevalence of stunting in under two children from 28% to 0% by 2030
- Reduce prevalence of wasting in under five children from 11% to 5% by 2030
- Reduce the prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age group from 20% to 13% by 2030
- Reduce the prevalence of low birth weight from 5.4% to 3% by 2030
- Increased proportion of Infant (0-6) exclusively breastfeed from 61% to 85% by 2030
Exclusive breastfeeding, and overweight are aligned with national priorities, including the Food and Nutrition Strategy (FNS), the Seqota Declaration (SD), and the Food System Transformation Roadmap. These commitments also contribute to achieving the World Health Assembly (WHA) targets, the African Union (AU) food and nutrition goals, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, in collaboration with development partners.
During the summit, GAIN Ethiopia, represented by Country Director Wubet Girma and Head of Policy and Advocacy, Genet Gebremedhin stressed two key considerations in their implementation. GAIN called on the GoE to continue evaluating needs of all stakeholders and bringing their voices to the table and to communicate frequently and collect and disseminate evidence. Secondly, GAIN emphasized the role of businesses as the key to transforming food systems.
“Businesses large and small are the main drivers behind the action, investment, and financial flows that supply our diets” - Wubet Girma
From July 16 to 18 this year, the Ministry of Health - Ethiopia in collaboration with Right2Grow and ECSC-SUN, convened a national multi-stakeholder dialogue in Bishoftu to accelerate progress on Ethiopia’s Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Paris 2025 commitments.
At the heart of the discussions was a shared recognition: a commitment without a mechanism for tracking progress is a missed opportunity! Ethiopia’s 15 N4G commitments, ranging from improving nutrition financing to enhancing food systems, are ambitious. The challenge is ensuring those ambitions translate into tangible results.
The event brought together participants from across government institutions, civil society, academia, development partners, and UN agencies.
The Workshop proceedings
To meet that challenge, participants co-created a national monitoring and accountability framework that will serve as a living tool to track and report progress on the N4G goals.
The dialogue emphasized participatory processes, with space for local NGOs, youth groups, and international actors to shape how progress will be measured. GAIN Ethiopia alongside fellow development partners, participated actively in the sessions, reaffirming its commitment to support Ethiopia’s goals through technical assistance and long-term collaboration.
What’s next?
With the framework now in draft, the Ministry of Health and partners will move into a refinement and validation phase, ensuring indicators are practical, relevant, and built into existing reporting systems. Regular stocktaking and transparent progress updates are also expected to follow.
This moment marks a key milestone not just for Ethiopia’s N4G journey, but for what it signals globally: that political will must be matched with practical mechanisms. Commitments can fade after the applause, Ethiopia’s path is marked by action, transparency, and accountability showing that commitment means nothing without action, and action means little without monitoring.
GAIN will continue to support food system transformation, by promoting evidence-based policy development and implementation, such as furthering progress on the Food Systems Dashboard – and through implementation of strategic and scaled private sector based solutions.