The Mary Dinah Foundation has announced the launch of the Global Alliance for Food Innovation (GAFI). The $250 million initiative aims to scale up to $1 billion annually to address food insecurity, malnutrition, and the impact of climate change on global food systems.
The announcement was made at the opening of the Nutrition for Growth 2025 Conference in Paris, a high-profile global event bringing together governments, UN agencies, international organisations, philanthropic foundations, and health ministries to advance nutrition and food security solutions.
Founder of the Mary Dinah Foundation, Mary Dinah emphasised the urgency of the initiative, citing ongoing global crises. “We are witnessing one of the toughest periods for poverty and malnutrition in human history,” she said. “Wars, inflation, and climate change are making food scarcity a daily reality for millions. GAFI is not just an initiative—it’s an urgent response to a global emergency. We need innovative solutions, and we need them now.”
The foundation has been actively engaged in addressing malnutrition, particularly among pregnant and lactating women, infants, and refugees in conflict-affected areas.
Through its Zero-Hunger programme, she said the foundation has delivered over 55 million meals across West and Central Africa, connected 14,394 children to life-saving vaccinations, provided antenatal care access to 10,331 pregnant women, and trained 305,236 women in maternal and infant nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) education.
“Women and children are the most vulnerable in times of crisis,” Dinah said. “Through GAFI, we are scaling sustainable nutrition programs to protect them, especially in conflict zones where food insecurity is at its worst.”
The initiative also aims to tackle the growing threat of climate change, which has worsened food shortages worldwide through rising temperatures, extreme weather conditions, and soil degradation. GAFI will fund climate-smart agriculture and sustainable food production models to enhance global food system resilience.
“We cannot solve hunger with short-term fixes,” Dinah stressed. “GAFI is about scaling sustainable solutions to ensure food security for future generations.”
GAFI plans to operate as a public-private financing mechanism, leveraging matching funds, blended financing models, and strategic partnerships to maximise its impact. The initiative aims to mobilise resources from governments, development finance institutions, private sector partners, and philanthropic organisations to drive large-scale food security and nutrition investments.
