The report Diets of children and adolescents: Unlocking gains for human and planetary health summarizes the outcomes of a strategic meeting by UNICEF and EAT in Oslo, March 2020.
In the context of the two organizations’ Children Eating Well (CHEW) collaboration, the meeting brought together experts from governments, academia, development partners and youth organizations. They reviewed the latest evidence on healthy and sustainable diets for children and adolescents, identified research gaps and opportunity areas for action, and explored the role children and adolescents can play in advancing food systems transformation.
Children have unique dietary needs, requiring a diversity of foods and foods of higher nutrient density than adults; they also have specific rights that governments must fulfill and protect. Meeting participants agreed that children’s needs should be positioned at the center of food systems transformations for healthy and sustainable diets. Three opportunity areas for action were identified: 1) influencing public policy; 2) addressing the issue of affordability of nutritious foods; and 3) improving multi-stakeholder, multi-scale collaboration. Meaningful engagement of children and adolescents themselves as part of this agenda was also considered crucial.
30 September 2020, New York
The United Nations Summit on Biodiversity will be convened by the President of the General Assembly on 30 September 2020, at the level of Heads of State and Government under the theme of “Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.”
Our societies are intimately linked with and depend on biodiversity. Biodiversity is essential for people, including through its provision of nutritious food, clean water, medicines, and protection from extreme events. Biodiversity loss and the degradation of its contributions to people jeopardize progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human wellbeing. The evidence of these connections is clear.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of the relationship between people and nature. We are reminded that when we destroy and degrade biodiversity, we undermine the web of life and increase the risk of disease spillover from wildlife to people. Responses to the pandemic provide a unique opportunity for transformative change as a global community. An investment in the health of our planet is an investment in our own future.
The Summit will highlight the crisis facing humanity from the degradation of biodiversity and the urgent need to accelerate action on biodiversity for sustainable development. It will provide an opportunity for Heads of State and Government and other leaders to raise ambition for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021. This framework, and its effective implementation, must put nature on a path to recovery by 2030 to meet the SDGs and realize the Vision of “Living in harmony with nature”.
As we approach the end of the UN Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020, progress towards global biodiversity targets including those of the SDGs has been insufficient. While there are many local examples of success, biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, with growing impacts on people and our planet.
More information at: https://www.un.org/pga/74/united-nations-summit-on-biodiversity/
29th September 2020 | 2PM CEST
The report: Future Food Systems: For people, our planet, and prosperity assesses the developing crises that relate to malnutrition, the dysfunctional relationship between food systems and the natural environment, and also the lack of resilience of food systems – highlighted most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the latest science and evidence, the report identifies the systemic policy failures that are behind these interlinked crises and sets out the essential steps which need to be taken so that food systems can transition to become fit for the future. Importantly, the advice and recommendations are grounded in the realities of policy development-resource constraints, competing priorities and inevitable trade-offs – particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
The report makes an urgent call for action by the Global Panel to leaders and other decision-makers concerned with diets and nutrition, health, and the natural environment.
The launch will be of interest to both public and private sectors, donors, investors, researchers, international organisations and civil society. Join the event for a panel discussion on the report, and the priorities for action on making sustainable, healthy diets and nutrient-rich foods accessible, affordable and available to all.
This evidence-based report offers policy solutions to improve the quality of diets using a food systems approach through promoting availability, accessibility, affordability, desirability, and sustainably, healthy diets for all.
The aim and key added value of this report is to draw on the best available science and evidence to set out a practical way forward which is grounded in the realities of policy development in LMICs.
The advice and recommendations offered by the Global Panel are aimed primarily at decision makers in LMICs, but they alone cannot turn global challenges around. In a highly interconnected world, high-income countries also have a vital role to play, particularly where their own decisions have impacts on LMICs. High-income countries (HICs) not only share responsibility for some of the major problems facing us all but are also facing obesity and diet-related disease epidemics of their own.
This report shows that the underlying problems run deep. Our food systems are failing to produce the foods essential for healthy diets in sufficient quantity and at affordable prices. They are also driving degradation of the natural environment – soil, water and air quality, biodiversity loss and climate change – and dangerously undermining our future well-being. Since this report was commissioned in 2018, COVID-19 has highlighted just how fragile and precarious the world’s food systems have become. The situation is unsustainable.
Download the Executive Summary
29 September
The challenge of reducing food loss and waste during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc globally, generating significant challenges that could result in risks to food security and nutrition in many countries. Disruptions in supply chains resulting from blockages on transport routes, transport restrictions and quarantine measures are resulting in significant increases in food loss and waste, especially of perishable agricultural produce, such as fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shortage of seasonal migrant farm labourers and transportation labours, who have faced difficulties in crossing borders. The closure of much of the hospitality industry and schools has also resulted in a loss of markets for producers, making the situation even more challenging. Dealing with the levels of food waste in the upstream segments of the supply chains of perishables, vegetables, and milk, in particular, has been particularly challenging.
At the downstream end of the supply chain, with panic buying and stockpiling by consumers, supermarkets, which are often key donors to food banks, struggle to keep their shelves stocked and are unable to donate food. Yet, much of the food purchased by households may never be consumed and could end up being discarded as food waste, because of a misunderstanding of date marking and improper storage of these household food items.
The food waste during COVID-19, is even more concerning, considering that food banks across the developed world are anticipating a significant increase in the demand, owing to an increase in the number of people affected financially due to the surge in unemployment. The food banks face a number of problems ranging from a lack of experienced staff, insufficient supply of food, and also locations that are no longer suited to distributing food packages, because of the physical distancing measures.
We need to be aware of the importance of the issue of food loss and waste now more than ever in order to promote and implement our global efforts towards resolving it. That is why, in 2019, the 74th United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, recognizing the fundamental role that sustainable food production plays in promoting food security and nutrition. Doubtless, this new International Day faces a lot of challenges to achieve our goals of "Responsible consumption and production," which will contribute to the fight for Zero Hungerand against Climate Change.
More information available at: https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day
Food-based strategies have the goal of improving nutrition through increasing the availability and consumption of a nutritionally adequate micronutrient rich diet made up of a variety of safe, affordable nutritious foods.
Fortification, biofortification and improved dietary practices are considered important food-based strategies to reduce anaemia due to iron and other nutritional deficiencies.
Please join us in this webinar where we will discuss the status of these interventions globally and how they can be combined by countries to achieve the global target of halving anaemia in women by 2030.
Webinar panel:
Dr Nancy Aburto, Food and Nutrition Division, FAO
Ms Kristina Michaux, Harvest Plus
Dr Anjali Bhardwaj, Nutrition International
When: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Time: 9:00 -10: 15 am, EST
Thursday, 24 September 2020 - 10 AM (NY time)
Virtual event - Register here
This UNGA side-event will review the current work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs (UNIATF) and agree on the ways to provide more effective UN system support to enable countries scale up their responses to NCDs during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Follow live on UN web TV
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Thu, September 24, 2020 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM CEST
This event will highlight the impact of COVID-19 on malnutrition conveyed by the Standing Together for Nutrition (STfN) consortium. With worrying increases in child wasting and child death as a result of the pandemic, the heads of four UN agencies have put forward an urgent call to action. It will be discussed how the international community can respond to this call for action, move forward to mitigate the damage and protect children’s right to nutrition in the face of this pandemic.
The event is co-sponsored by the Governments of Bangladesh and Canada, and organised by GAIN and Micronutrient Forum (MNF), co-leads of the Standing Together for Nutrition (STfN) Consortium.
This publication outlines methods and actions for countries to monitor nutrition-related spending. It will contribute to understanding the importance and opportunities for countries to use costing and tracking their nutrition-sensitive investments in agriculture and food systems. The lessons outlined here focus on the implementation of national nutrition plans to sustain results and impact, with attention to decisions influencing the budget planning and analysis for nutrition.
This budget analysis guidance note was written by FAO in collaboration with the SUN Movement Secretariat and with substantial contribution from the UN Network, Results for Development and MQSUN+.
For more information visit: http://www.fao.org/nutrition/policies-programmes/enabling-environment-for-improved-nutrition/en/
18-26 September
An annual week of action, awareness, and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The countries of the United Nations made a universal promise to leave no one behind in achieving a peaceful and prosperous world by 2030. Global Goals Week is a shared commitment of partnership between civil society, business, academia and the UN system to push action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially during the UN General Assembly High-level Week. It is also an opportunity to speak out as one voice, share ideas and transformative solutions in the fight to build back better from global challenges.
More information at: https://globalgoalsweek.org
Wednesday 16 September 2020 | 14:30 - 16:00 CEST
This international technical webinar is part of the series organized by the FAO eLearning Academy, Agreenium (l'Institut agronomique, vétérinaire et forestier de France) and UN-ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). These webinars are an opportunity for all of us to share experiences and lessons learnt, discuss challenges, and propose innovative solutions and models. They aim to provide a holistic and comprehensive view of current trends in thematic areas related to global challenges, by combining development research and innovation perspectives.
The main objective of these technical webinars is to give practitioners the opportunity to interact with international experts, United Nations officers, University professors, researchers and fellow participants, throughout the world. Webinars can be attended as interactive online sessions on Zoom, where sharing perspectives and asking questions to experts is encouraged. These sessions are also recorded and therefore available at any time, through the FAO elearning Academy: elearning.fao.org.
OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION
• Present the work that the RBA working group is doing on sustainable food value chains for nutrition
• Provide a comprehensive overview on the e-learning course on Sustainable Food Value Chains for Nutrition
• Introduce country experiences in designing sustainable food value chains using this approach
The annual Global Week for Action on NCDs campaign draws on outrage, energy, inspiration, determination and optimism to focus efforts on ensuring NCD prevention and control get the attention and action they deserve.
Join the movement
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the #1 cause of death and disability in the world, accounting for 70% of all deaths and more than three out of four years lived with a disability - and many NCDs are preventable and premature. Driven largely by five modifiable risk factors – tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and air pollution, NCDs are exacerbated by weak healthy systems, under-investment, and lack of accountability, and actions to reduce their impact on people’s lives require a whole of society approach. NCDs are a major cause (and consequence) of poverty, and the largest NCD burden occurs in low- and middle- income countries.
More info at: https://www.actonncds.org/en
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