Parliament of Kenya to Host Global Hunger and Malnutrition Summit With 250 MPs

Parliament of Kenya will host the Third Global Parliamentary Summit on Hunger and Malnutrition in Nairobi on 16 and November 17, 2026, bringing together more than 250 legislators from over 100 national legislatures.

The two-day meeting is being organised by the Parliament of Kenya with support from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, and it marks the first time the summit is held in Africa after Spain in 2018 and Chile in 2023.

Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said the gathering will enable parliamentarians, FAO representatives, development partners, civil-society groups and private-sector actors to share experiences and strengthen legislative and oversight roles in confronting hunger, malnutrition and climate-related food-system challenges, under the theme “Legislating for Resilient Agrifood Systems and Zero Hunger in a Changing Climate” and in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Wetang’ula added that President William Ruto will open the summit at 10 am on Monday in the National Assembly Chamber and that the event will showcase Kenya’s agricultural policies under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda; he also named a seven-member steering committee comprising MPs John Mutunga, Martha Wangari, James Nyikal, Yusuf Haji, Beatrice Elachi, Robert Basil and Cynthia Muge.

Mandera West MP Adan Yusuf Haji, chair of the Eastern Africa Parliamentary Alliance on Food Security and Nutrition, warned that 700 million people worldwide and one in five Africans are malnourished, urging parliaments to boost investment in food-security programmes, promote indigenous crops and ensure balanced diets, and stressing that a nation must be able to feed its people to claim independence.

Tigania West MP Dr John Mutunga, chair of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, called for African legislatures to develop effective frameworks for food-security and nutrition and appealed to the media to provide coverage that goes beyond statistics to illustrate the impact on households and national development.

The summit is expected to provide a platform for legislators and other stakeholders to discuss policies and practical interventions aimed at strengthening food systems, improving nutrition and tackling hunger across the continent.