Countries worst affected by child undernutrition experience at least $310 billion in trade-related illicit financial flows – UK must transform its response

New research published today by Results UK to mark World Health Day calls on the UK to meet its responsibilities to the countries most affected by child undernutrition.

Trading Hunger: How tackling illicit financial flows can help to overcome child undernutrition argues that the UK is allowing the countries most affected by child undernutrition to be harmed by illicit financial flows (IFFs). Not only is the UK Government doing far too little to support these countries directly and in global forums, it is failing to take action domestically to end the UK’s status as a hotbed for illicit finance.

The report conservatively estimates that 20 of the countries most affected by child undernutrition experienced at least $309.8 billion in trade-related IFFs in 2024. It further estimates that government revenue losses from trade-related IFFs amount to 86.3% of India’s and 65.1% of Nigeria’s domestically funded public health spending in 2023, respectively. Tackling these and other IFFs would generate substantial resources for Global South governments, which would enable them to address child undernutrition more effectively.

Domestically, the UK Government must strengthen financial transparency to prevent illicit money from undermining the integrity of Global South economies. First and foremost, it should force the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to establish comprehensive public registers of beneficial ownership. It should also ensure HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publishes data on wealth held by foreign nationals in British financial institutions that can be used by all foreign authorities to crack down on IFFs.

In addition, Global South governments need and call for direct support to combat IFFs. However, the UK Government’s cuts to official development assistance (ODA) mean that its funding for this work is in danger. One area in which the UK can assist these governments relates to strengthening legislation and regulations targeting IFFs – though it is vital that whistleblowers and civil society are protected. Another area is increasing the capacity and coordination of customs, tax, financial intelligence and law enforcement authorities in Global South countries, for example by investing in digital technologies and in joint risk assessments.

At the global level, the UK must reverse its current oppositional stance, and support a United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. The UK should also advocate for a UN coordination and oversight mechanism on IFFs. The world needs legitimate, effective and accountable governance structures to combat IFFs, rather than the current unequal, unsuccessful and fragmented system.

Undernutrition is devastating for affected children and costs trillions of dollars in lost economic productivity. Yet the prevalence of wasting (i.e. low weight-for-height) has barely changed in recent years while the prevalence of stunting (i.e. low height-for-age) has actually increased. The report demonstrates how this is true despite the fact that extremely cost-effective child nutrition interventions are well established. It is unacceptable that a lack of funding, driven in large measure by damage caused by IFFs, means that real-life nutrition success stories cannot be scaled up or strategically replicated in other contexts.

Sunit Bagree, author of the report for Results UK, said:

“The UK lies at the centre of a web of financial secrecy and theft. The British Government must use its ongoing vice-presidency of the Financial Action Task Force, as well as upcoming opportunities starting with the UK-hosted Illicit Finance Summit in June, to fulfil its promise to support Global South governments in increasing their domestic revenues. Forcing British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to establish comprehensive public registers of beneficial ownership is the best way of stopping them from facilitating illicit financial flows. Ensuring the Financial Conduct Authority is adequately resourced to meet its new duties for anti-money laundering supervision will crack down on the professional enablers who drive the UK’s £100 billion-a-year money laundering problem. These steps would particularly help the countries worst affected by child undernutrition to generate funds to invest in proven interventions in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Rosemary Mburu, Executive Director at pan-African advocacy organisation WACI Health, said:

“We urge the UK to boost its support for the Global South to tackle illicit finance. Building the capacity and coordination of African authorities, in the context of rights-based legal and regulatory frameworks, would help them to detect and punish offences, deter and reduce illicit financial flows, and increase the recovery and repatriation of stolen assets. It is also hugely important for the UK to now back African efforts to create a fairer global tax system through a UN tax treaty and to advocate for the UN to be at the centre of global decision-making on illicit finance. This will ensure global economic governance becomes far more inclusive, results-orientated and accountable. Countering illicit financial flows is in the security and economic interests of all countries. Genuine partnerships among nations can see the battle against illicit finance translated into sorely needed investment in child nutrition.”

ENDS

The full report can be downloaded here https://results.org.uk/publication/trading-hunger/

Media enquiries: Will Sewell, Results UK Campaigns and Communications Officer, [email protected] / +44 (0)7415 289712

Notes 

  • The UN defines IFFs as ‘financial flows that are illicit in origin, transfer or use, that reflect an exchange of value and that cross country borders’. 
  • By the third deadline of 30 June 2025 imposed by the UK Parliament on the British Overseas Territories, only Gibraltar and Montserrat had complied and established public registers of beneficial ownership. All three Crown Dependencies have failed to deliver on their commitment to grant access to beneficial ownership information based on ‘legitimate interest’. 
  • The UK ensures that its financial institutions collect information on all foreign account holders. Yet HMRC does not receive this information for countries that do not implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Common Reporting Standard. 
  • In November 2020, the UK reduced its ODA budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI). In February 2025, the UK Government announced it would further reduce the ODA budget, from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI, from 2027.
  • In November 2024, the UK was one of only nine states to vote against the UN General Assembly resolution approving the terms of reference for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.
  • The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa and the High Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda are among those who have called for the UN to coordinate work on tackling IFFs.
  • Research by the World Bank shows that fully scaling up interventions to address child undernutrition would generate an estimated $2.4 trillion in economic benefits in the period 2025-34. Not taking action would lead to around $21 trillion in lost economic productivity in the same period.
  • The latest (2025) UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates demonstrate the lack of progress in overcoming child stunting and wasting.
  • The report draws on Results UK’s ‘Good News on Nutrition’ project, which ran from 2023 to 2025. For more information, see https://results.org.uk/publication/good-news-on-nutrition-the-complete-series/.
  • The Financial Action Task Force leads global action to tackle money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing. However, it has faced criticism for multiple failures, from its lack of meaningful representation on the part of the Global South to its standards being weaponised by some governments to attack human rights.  
  • On 23-24 June 2026, the UK will host the Illicit Finance Summit at Lancaster House in London.
  • At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla in July 2025, the Minister for Development, Baroness Chapman, stated: “the UK will support countries to raise more finance domestically.”
  • The National Crime Agency says there is a ‘realistic possibility’ that over £100 billion is laundered through and within the UK or UK-registered corporate structures each year.
  • Results UK is a movement of passionate, committed people. Together as staff and grassroots activists, we advocate directly to parliamentarians, the UK Government and other decision-makers with the aim of guiding them towards commitments that reduce poverty and inequality. Along with WACI Health, Results UK is a member of ACTION, a partnership of global health advocacy organisations. For more information, visit www.results.org.uk. 
  • Sunit Bagree joined Results UK in January 2024. He is also a Research Associate in International Development at the University of Sussex.