Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

Last week, Sonia Medina, CIFF's Executive Director for Climate and Chief Ecosystem Development Officer attended Alliance magazine's 2024: A Year in Climate Philanthropy event with fellow speakers, Michael Kavate, Inside Philanthropy and Megan Clay, ClientEarth. The discussion focused on philanthropy's evolving response to the intensifying climate crisis. Now more than ever, we must work together to strengthen the critical levers that will help us reach our shared goals including strong leadership, particularly from the global south, and a focus on country-led transition plans to support wider development goals.   To watch the full panel discussion, watch here➡️ https://lnkd.in/emsgta-x

The 2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum is currently taking place in Osaka, Japan and the topic is "School Meal Programmes in an Era of Food Systems Transformation" 🌾📚   School meals are a powerful and impactful way to reach children and provide nutrition needed at scale. Additionally, school meals:   🚌 Encourage school attendance. ✏️ Enhance learning capabilities. 🌍 Mitigate against long-term risks of poverty, food insecurity, conflict and climate change.   With an estimated 73 million of the most vulnerable children still not being reached by school feeding programmes, we know that more must be done.     CIFF is excited to be participating in a forum that is dedicated to sharing best practice and importantly learning from others' experiences. Through working together, including with partners Food For Education, we know that true change is possible and we look forward to a world where no child goes hungry and all children are set up for successful futures.

In partnership with BwB and UBS Optimus Foundation, CIFF is proud to announce the launch of the Africa Capital Hub to unlock green and social capital at scale📈!   This week, the AFRICA FINANCIAL SUMMIT - AFIS 2024 brought together over 1,000 leaders from Africa and around the world to help strengthen the sustainable development of Africa's financial sector. This Africa Capital Hub is an example of important progress from this summit and it aims to initially facilitate $1 billion USD in private, public, and philanthropic financing for projects in key sectors by 2030.   As we look at scaling solutions to improve the lives of children - it is crucial that we build the financing mechanisms to support these initiatives and allow them to be resilient and sustainable in a challenging external environment. We look forward to see the impact of this finance mechanism benefiting people across Africa and beyond. Read more about the Africa Capital Hub here➡️ https://www.ach.earth/

ClimateWorks Foundation' 2024 funding trends report demonstrates an encouraging surge in climate funding. As our Executive Director for Climate and Chief Ecosystem Development Officer, Sonia Medina, comments: “Climate change is rapidly intensifying, and it is vital that philanthropy responds with the urgency that truly meets the enormity of the challenge. With the most flexible capital at our disposal, we must support and protect people, deploy bold solutions at scale and broker the all-society collaborative partnerships that are needed to unlock clean and prosperous growth across the world. Together we can secure a more liveable planet for children, now and in the future.”   Whilst this growth tells us we are heading in the right direction - there is still much more to be done, with climate mitigation still making up less than 2% of philanthropic giving. We will continue to work with partners to fund solutions to protect our planet.   Read the full report here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eE6qQppE

Today is the launch of the Generation Equality 2024 In-depth Accountability Report on the Action Coalition on Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. CIFF's Global Director for Equity, Gender and Youth, Linda Weisert will be speaking alongside partners and experts to discuss the findings of the report and draw attention to the critical role of SRHR in the broader context of human rights, including the right to health and gender equality. Register for the webinar below and join this insightful discussion appropriately being held on Human Rights Day. 📅 Date: 10th December 2024, Human Rights Day ⏰ Time: 09:00 AM EDT – 10:30 AM EDT 💻 Format: Virtual, register https://lnkd.in/dFAwDJAz

CIFF’s work with governments and partners in areas of education, jobs for women, health and climate are driven by an evidence-based and innovative approach. In September, our global leadership visited India, witnessing these programmes first-hand and participating in valuable discussions with the government, local partner organisations, frontline workers, and communities. Take a look inside CIFF Leadership’s trip to India ⬇️

Our founder, Sir Chris Hohn, reflects on his recent visit to India where the government's forward-looking policies are fostering steady development. From advanced maternal care to jobs for women to adoption of clean energy, India's progress is inspiring and serves as a model for the world. Read more from Chris below ⬇️

Climate change affects our agri-food systems, which in turn, influence food security and nutrition for India's population. We are now at a critical juncture where it is essential to make our agricultural ecosystems more climate resilient.   Earlier this week, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India hosted a roundtable discussion on intentional integration of nutrition into climate-resilient agriculture. The discussion was led by Shri Franklin L. Khobung, Joint Secretary (RFS), DA&FW. We were glad to participate and look forward to working on solutions that strengthen nutrition and climate resilient agriculture in India.

Climate change impacts us all yet it also exacerbates pre-existing inequalities, including gender.    At #COP29 and beyond, we must highlight these links and ensure women, in particular marginalised women who are at the forefront of the climate crisis, are being centered in decisions for a resilient, healthier and more sustainable world. 

On energy, “any investment we decide today will decide on what infrastructure we will live with for decades to come. Generations that are not born yet, will have to handle the consequences of those decisions.”   Beniamin Strzelecki, is a member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and spoke to us earlier this year at New York Climate week about why he believes climate change is a children’s issue.   During #COP29, we must encourage and prioritise young people in every step of the decision-making process, and we must remember the purpose of this work: to help build a liveable planet that will sustain future generations to come.