You’ve heard about cuts in foreign aid affecting child nutrition, but what about adolescents?

I have seen how much progress has been made in fighting malnutrition, especially among children and adolescents. But now that progress is at risk. Recent cuts in foreign aid funding could slow down or even erase the gains we’ve worked so hard for. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been a major force in global nutrition programs, has slashed nearly 83% of its funding. Other key donors, like the United Kingdom 40%, France 37%, the Netherlands 30%, and Belgium 25%, have also reduced their contributions ^11,13

These cuts mean that 700 million USD, 44% of the total global nutrition budget, is gone ^{(8, 10)}While most conversations focus on young children, babies, and pregnant women, I can’t help but think about how this will affect adolescents.

For many teenagers in my country, Zimbabwe, and across Africa, nutrition is not just about food. It affects everything, their ability to learn, their immune systems, their physical and mental development, and even their future earning potential. A lack of proper nutrition during adolescence can lead to weakened immunity, making them more vulnerable to diseases like tuberculosis and anemia. It can slow brain development, making it harder for them to focus in school and limiting their chances of escaping poverty. For adolescent girls, under-nutrition increases the risk of complications during pregnancy later in life, continuing the cycle of poor health across generations.

It is heartbreaking to think that so many young people may be left behind because of decisions made far away. I can’t ignore this and neither should the world.

Why Adolescent Nutrition Matters

Africa is home to about 196.5 million adolescents, making up 31% of the population.¹² Adolescence is a critical time for growth and development. Proper nutrition during these years is essential for physical growth, brain development, and overall health. Unfortunately, many adolescents around the world face challenges such as hunger, poor diets, and lack of access to nutritious food. This is why large-scale or national programs that focus on adolescent nutrition are so important. They help ensure that young people grow up healthy, stay in school, and have a better chance at a productive future.

Micronutrient Deficiencies

Many adolescents suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron, iodine, and vitamin A. These deficiencies can have serious effects on their health and development. For example, iron deficiency can lead to anemia, which affects cognitive abilities and the immune system. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 40% of adolescent girls in Africa are anemic, mostly due to iron deficiency. This can make it harder for them to concentrate in school and perform well academically. Iodine deficiency can lead to problems with brain development, while a lack of vitamin A can weaken the immune system, making adolescents more susceptible to infections.

Stunted Growth and Health Complications

Malnutrition in adolescence can lead to stunted growth, which means that young people do not reach their full height potential. This can have long-term effects on their health and well-being. While having a short height is not in itself a bad thing, it can be an ‘indicator’ that a person has been exposed to malnutrition. Malnourished adolescents are at a higher risk of infections and diseases, and for young girls who become mothers, malnutrition can lead to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, putting both the mother and the baby at risk.

Economic Productivity

Adolescent nutrition is also linked to economic productivity. Studies show that malnourished young people grow up to earn 20% less income than their well-nourished peers.13 If African adolescents continue to face high levels of malnutrition, the economic future of the continent could suffer. This could lead to increased poverty rates and limit the overall development of the region.

The role of foreign donors in fighting adolescent malnutrition

For many years, foreign donors have supported national governments in countries with high levels of malnutrition, to improve the lives of millions of children and adolescents. Some of the key initiatives from USAID specifically include:

Feed the Future Initiative: Launched in 2010, this program focused on improving agriculture, increasing food production, and fighting hunger. Through investments in small-scale farming, better irrigation, and access to markets, Feed the Future has helped many families escape hunger.
School Health and Nutrition Programs: Schools are an important place to reach children and adolescents with health and nutrition services. In the past two years alone, school meal coverage in Africa increased by 30% from 66 million children in 2022 to 87 million in 2024 thanks to funding from African governments and organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID ^{5, 11}.
Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programs: USAID has played a direct role in iron and folic acid supplementation programs, which help prevent anemia and support adolescent girls' health. Recent progress in scaling up school meals and weekly iron-folic acid supplements could be lost and even reversed as a result of funding cuts.

With the recent cuts to global nutrition funding being so widespread, even programming that does not directly focus on adolescents, is likely to still impact them during this crucial time in their lives. When resources for nutrition are scare, interventions that support adolescents are often deprioritized and funds redirected to ‘life-saving’ services for young children and pregnant women. However, adolescent nutrition is directly linked to life-threatening hazards further down the road, such as maternal mortality and adult non-communicable diseases, as well as individual and national prosperity, hence it should not be ignored. By cutting funding, we risk creating a generation of young people who are less healthy and less able to reach their full potential. This could have a ripple effect on the economy, on future poverty rates, on the future burden for the healthcare system, and on intergenerational child survival.

It is not just beneficiaries of the programs who will suffer. The abrupt freeze in USAID funding has left thousands of healthcare workers in Zimbabwe jobless, many of whom learned of their dismissal through impersonal messages with no prior warning. For these workers, who dedicated themselves to providing life-saving health care services the job was more than a paycheck it was a lifeline. Now, with clinics closed and programs halted, they face the harsh reality of sudden unemployment, struggling to feed their families, pay rent, and keep their children in school. The uncertainty is overwhelming, made worse by poor communication and the lack of immediate alternatives. For many, the loss of these jobs has brought not just financial strain but a deep sense of abandonment and despair.

What should be done?

The current political climate shows no sign of changing anytime soon, hence we may have to accept that the days of large bilateral funding pots for nutrition programming are over. The very sudden cessation of USAID funding and the manner in which programming has been stopped is likely to have major impacts on millions of young people. Coupling this with rising global food prices due to climate change, conflicts, and economic instability, millions of young people will now be at risk of malnutrition, stunted growth, and diet-related health problems.

This situation means that organizations and national governments will need to find alternative solutions to keep these programs running. Many people in Africa are pleased to now have the opportunity for their governments to take ownership of national health and wellbeing, and be accountable to their people by providing funds for these activities out of national budgets. We are already seeing a change in attitude towards Western involvement in health and nutrition programming, including proactive steps to reduce expatriate staff in national offices and taking back control of ongoing health research projects. However, is it realistic for national governments to be able to dismantle and then replace an aid system which has existed for decades and is rooted in colonialism, over night? Many developing countries already face financial constraints and competing priorities, making it difficult to secure any new funding commitments.

Our job as youth advocates and other stakeholders is to lobby governments to allocate resources for adolescent nutrition programs to ensure that they are not deprioritized or discontinued. By demonstrating the long-term benefits of investing in adolescent nutrition such as improved health outcomes, increased productivity, and reduced healthcare costs, we can make a strong case for government support.

We can also consider making programs as financially efficient as possible. When resources are in short supply, better understanding the fundamental drivers of health and what the most cost-effective interventions are to improve it becomes even more important. More research into causes and solutions for adolescent nutrition is needed to ensure the most effective use of limited resources. Youth leaders can play a vital role in advocating for and designing adolescent nutrition research in their own settings. When we include young people in the design of adolescent nutrition programming, they are likely to be more effective and better received by those they are designed to reach. Organisations like Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN), who’s focus is on the ‘best use’ of existing knowledge, also play an important role in ensuring programme efficiency and sharing of lessons learned across contexts, so the same mistakes aren’t made twice.

As a Youth Partner for ENN, I believe I can play an important role in supporting and strengthening future adolescent nutrition programming in Zimbabwe and across Africa, even in the face of recent global aid cuts. The challenges we face today such as funding freezes, program closures, and job losses are a stark reminder of how fragile progress can be when it relies heavily on external support. But adversity also brings opportunity: an opportunity to rise, to innovate, and to build more resilient, community-driven solutions.

Young people like me are not just beneficiaries we are powerful agents of change. We understand the needs of our peers, we live the realities of our communities, and we are deeply invested in shaping a healthier, more equitable future. By working together governments, communities, youth leaders, and organizations we can build sustainable systems that prioritize adolescent nutrition, even when donor support fluctuates.

As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” And at least, we are together. Together, we can ensure that no young person is left behind, that nutrition is not sidelined, and that the voices of youth are at the heart of every program designed to serve them.