UNSCN Discussion Paper – Water and Nutrition. Harmonizing actions for the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and the UN Water Action Decade

Progress for both SDG 2 and SDG 6 has been unsatisfactory, with several indicators worsening over time, including an increase in the number of undernourished, overweight and obese people, as well as rapid increases in the number of people at risk of severe water shortages. This lack of progress is exacerbated by climate change and growing regional and global inequities in food and water security, including access to good quality diets, leading to increased violation of the human rights to water and food. Reversing these trends will require a much greater effort on the part of water, food security, and nutrition communities, including stronger performances by the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition and the United Nations International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development. 

The UNSCN Discussion Paper Water and Nutrition. Harmonizing Actions for the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition and the United Nations Water Action Decade analyzes the complex web of pathways that link water, food security and nutrition outcomes. Climate change and the growing demand for water resources are also considered, given their central role in shaping future water and nutrition security. It calls for increased and systematic collaboration between the nutrition and water sectors and actors, to be able to reach both the water and nutrition targets and the 2030 Agenda.

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Cooperation models for transforming the agricultural sector

The path to reducing unacceptable hunger levels “lies in our ability to transform the agricultural sector”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today at at “Targeting Hunger: South-South and Triangular cooperation for Transforming Agriculture”, an interactive dialogue held at the United Nations headquarters.
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FAO Director-General says greater action needed to avert a humanitarian crisis as Desert Locust spreads

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today greater and faster action was needed to prevent a humanitarian crisis in East Africa as the Desert Locust upsurge was now affecting seven countries and threatened to spread even further.
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“Team effort” is high road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a “team effort”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today as he welcomed the 43rd Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
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“Team effort” is high road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a “team effort”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today as he welcomed the 43rd Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
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FAO highlights role of pulses in fighting hunger and achieving healthy diets for all

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today highlighted pulses’ crucial role in addressing food insecurity and achieving healthy and balanced diets for all. He made the remarks at a special ceremony at FAO Headquarters in Rome, in which FAO observed World Pulses Day.
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FAO hails first contribution to promoting digital agriculture through knowledge-sharing

China’s Development Plan for Digital Agriculture and Rural Areas (2019-2025) has bene made available on FAO’s e-agriculture website, in English and Chinese.
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International Symposium: Sustainable food systems – Going beyond food security

7-8 February 2020
Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany

The symposium addresses the challenge of achieving sustainable food systems in a global context from different perspectives. As sustainability in the frame of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-agenda excludes a monothematic approach, experts from the field of agronomy, agricultural economics, environmental and ecological sciences, nutritional and social sciences as well as health collaborate towards an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. This is not free from controversial debate.

Abstract submission is open until 31 October 2019

Programme

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The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund donates $1 million to efforts to combat Desert Locust in East Africa

The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF) has donated $1 million to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to combat the worsening Desert Locust upsurge in the Horn of Africa.
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World food prices rise in January

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 182.5 points during the month of January 2020, up 0.7 percent from December and 11.3 percent higher than the same month a year earlier.
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Webinar: The Do’s and Dont’s in monitoring salt iodization and iodine status

Thu, Feb 6, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (GMT)

A webinar organized by UNICEF and the Iodine Global Network

Registration: Confirm your attendance by sending an email to Arnold Timmer, atimmer@ign.org, by 3rd February 2020.

The objective of the webinar is to disseminate the new Guidance on the Monitoring of Salt Iodization Programmes and Determination of Population Iodine Status (attached) to programme managers and other national and international stakeholders involved in iodine nutrition and salt iodization programmes.  The webinar is based on the recommendations published by UNICEF in the Guidance on the Monitoring of Salt Iodization Programmes and Determination of Population Iodine Status in 2018.
 
The UNICEF Guidance on the Monitoring of Salt Iodization Programmes and Determination of Population Iodine Status has compiled the lessons learned of decades of programme monitoring. It provides a set of recommendations and adjustments in the way monitoring should take place. The Guidance is intended to complement and update information contained in the WHO Guideline on Fortification of Food-grade Salt with Iodine for the Prevention and Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (2014) and the WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD Guide for Programme Managers on Assessment of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and Monitoring their Elimination (2007).   

Agenda:

  • Background iodine nutrition programmes.
  • Monitoring salt iodization and iodine status.
  • Recommended changes in monitoring programme performance and impact.
  • Questions and answers.

Speakers:

  • Mawuli Sablah (UNICEF HQ, Nutrition Specialist)
  • Jonathan Gorstein (Iodine Global Network, Executive Director)
  • Roland Kupka (UNICEF HQ, Senior Adviser)
  • Arnold Timmer (IGN Senior Adviser and moderator)

Please join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/165314661

You can also dial in using your phone:
United States (Toll Free): 1 877 309 2073
United States: +1 (571) 317-3129

Access Code: 165-314-661

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/165314661

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UN food agencies offer support to China amid coronavirus outbreak

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have jointly expressed solidarity with China and offered support to the country as it battles the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
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