Italian President Mattarella receives leaders of the three Rome-based United Nations agencies

FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, IFAD President, Gilbert F. Houngbo, and WFP Executive Director, David Beasley, met the Italian head of state at his official residence, the Quirinal Palace in Rome.
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Candidates for the post of FAO Director-General announced

Five candidates have been presented by FAO Member Countries for the post of FAO Director-General to be elected in June 2019, the agency announced. The five candidates, each nominated by his/her government, are listed in alphabetical order by country: Médi Moungui (Cameroon), Qu Dongyu (China), Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle (France), Davit Kirvalidze (Georgia) and Ramesh Chand (India).
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New UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration offers unparalleled opportunity for job creation, food security and addressing climate change

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, declared today by the UN General Assembly, aims to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems as a proven measure to fight the climate crisis and enhance food security, water supply and biodiversity.
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Shining the spotlight on “life below water”

World Wildlife Day 2019, which falls on 3 March, focuses on marine species and aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Life below water. It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the breathtaking diversity of marine wildlife, the benefits it brings to our everyday lives as well as ways to ensure that it can continue to do so for generations to come.
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Nutrition News – Issue 1, 2019

In an effort to present nutrition related news at the global and country level, UNSCN and the UNN Secretariats are teaming up to produce the first comprehensive overview of recent developments supported and/or coordinated by the UN system.

The first issue for 2019 edition includes:

  • Optimizing human health and environmental sustainability
  • Increasing commitments to the Nutrition Decade
  • Outcomes of the International Symposium on Understanding the Double Burden of Malnutrition for Effective Interventions
  • Reinforcing the collective mindset for nutrition in Liberia
  • Burkina Faso's Common Nutrition Narrative emblematic of new climate for increased harmonization of UN support
  • Prime Minister of the Comoros endorses the decision to map nutrition stakeholders and actions following a study visit with Chad
  • Obituary - In memory of Dr. Elisabet Helsing

PUBLICATIONS and a CALENDAR OF NUTRITION RELATED EVENTS

You can access you copy here. Photo credits @WFP Liberia/John Monibah

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Multi Stakeholder Food and Nutrition Forum Meeting

The Multi-Stakeholder Food and Nutrition Forum is a high level platform which brings together Government, UN, Donors, Development Partners and Civil Society for strategic policy dialogue and coordination on issues of humanitarian concern, among them food and nutrition security issues.

The meeting was held on the 26th of February to facilitate sharing of findings from the ZimVAC 2019 Lean Season Assessment and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, provision of updates on current food and nutrition interventions as well as updates from key sectors.

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4th International Congress Hidden Hunger “Hidden hunger and the transformation of food systems: How to combat the double burden of malnutrition?”

February 27 - March 1, 2019 University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany) The 4th Congress Hidden Hunger is a continuation of the successful, international event series "Congress Hidden Hunger" which started in 2013 in Stuttgart, Germany. As in case of the previous congresses in this series, the 4th Congress Hidden Hunger taking place in 2019 will bring together members of different disciplines: nutritionists, agricultural scientists, economists and sociologists. The Congress will encourage the dialogue between scientists, policy-makers and representatives of non-governmental organizations and the private sector. It will review the available evidence on the double burden problem, present new research findings on underlying causes and consequences, feature innovative strategies to deal with the problem and discuss the roles and responsibilities of governments, development organizations, civil society and the private sector in combating the double burden of malnutrition. Registration & Abstract submission Deadline for submission of an "Abstract with Scholarship": 16 November 2018 Deadline for submission of an "Abstract without Scholarship": 23 November 2018 Website
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The biodiversity that is crucial for our food and agriculture is disappearing by the day

The first-ever report of its kind presents mounting and worrying evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems is disappearing - putting the future of our food, livelihoods, health and environment under severe threat.
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Increasing number of people face severe food shortages in South Sudan

Nearly 7 million people in South Sudan could face acute food insecurity at the height of this lean season (May-July), three United Nations agencies warned today, urging for scaled-up humanitarian assistance and better access to humanitarian relief.
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2018 Global Nutrition Report Italy launch

20 February
WFP HQ, Rome (Italy)

At the event we will discuss the key findings of the 2018 Global Nutrition Report, highlighting the many connections across the Sustainable Development Goals for nutrition. The session will be an engaging occasion for sharing insights and commitments regarding nutrition action at all levels.

Please bring with you a smartphone, tablet or laptop to participate in this interactive event.

Speakers include:

  • Senior Representative of the Government of Kenya, SUN Member.
  • Jessica Fanzo, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University
  • Anna Lartey, Director, Nutrition, FAO
  • Lauren Landis, Director, Nutrition, WFP
  • Margarita Astralaga, Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division, IFAD

Register for this event.

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GLOPAN commits to the Nutrition Decade

The Global Panel’s strength is in its foundation – as an independent group of influential experts with a commitment to tackling global challenges in food and nutrition security. Due to the wealth of knowledge and experience of its members, it is able to provide strategic thinking and deep analysis on a variety of emerging issues and present that information through both policy briefs and foresight reports. These evidence-based reports provide the necessary interlinkages when addressing issues of urbanization, consumer behaviour, food environments, food safety, climate change and more.

GLOPAN pledges their support to the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Their reports act as a contribution to the Nutrition Decade because they provide substantive modelling and trend analysis to help policymakers better understand trends in agriculture and diets and to estimate costs/benefits of new agriculture and food policies. The Global Panel also convenes a High Level Stakeholder Group to ensure the success of the ongoing Foresight 2.0 project by drawing on the strategic and practical advice of the Group members and their influence in policy environments.

Furthermore, they will continue to bring together policymakers from different sectors in the food systems, as well as deliver evidence and tools to encourage and support governments in low- and middle-income countries as they design and implement food and nutrition policies. These efforts will be done in collaboration with international and regional partners.

For further information, we welcome you to read the full commitment here.

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Tackling food insecurity at the urban level – turning global commitments into local realities

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today urged cities around the world to redouble efforts to turn global commitments on food security, nutrition and climate change, into local realities.
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