Taoiseach Enda Kenny has pledged that Ireland will double its expenditure on nutrition over the next eight years.
In an address to a high-level conference on hunger in London Mr Kenny said famine and hunger run deep in the Irish psyche.
He said critical investment is needed to tackle malnutrition and the devastation it brings to millions.
The Taoiseach said Ireland's spending on nutrition will be doubled by 2020, but would be achieved without increasing the Overseas Development Aid budget.
Mr Kenny said: It's a leveraging for better effect within the overall ceiling of the Overseas Development Aid" and would mean "getting impact in terms of what we do in agriculture, education breastfeeding (strategy) and sanitation".
Ireland currently spends around €32 million a year on nutrition and this is planned to increase to €64m, but the ODA budget will stay the same.
Asked if Ireland would achieve its commitment of increasing overseas aid to 0.7% of GDP by 2015, Mr Kenny said: "We have our targets set as outlined by the Tanáiste, and we expect to meet those".
British Prime Minister David Cameron also attended the event, which is part of the UK celebrations for holding the presidency of the G8 group of major industrialised nations.
The event is called Nutrition for Growth: Beating Global Hunger by using Business and Science.
The day-of-action was jointly organised by Britain, Brazil and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation.
Ireland has been campaigning on the issue for many years and last month the Government signed a three-year deal to provide €21 million to the UN World Food Programme.
Meanwhile, the wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela was due to address the meeting, but returned to South Africa to be with her husband who is being treated in hospital for a lung infection.
Graca Machel was due to speak alongside Bill Gates this afternoon.
