Mid-term review of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition – Foresight paper

It is almost five years now since the Nutrition Decade was declared. It is time to reflect back on its achievements so far. FAO and WHO are convening an open and inclusive dialogue with stakeholders for the mid-term review of the Nutrition Decade.

This review follows the ECOSOC Resolution 1989/84 regarding international decades, which provides that an appropriate inter-governmental body should appraise the implementation of a decade’s programme of work at the mid-point and at the end of the decade.

The objectives of the Mid-term Review of the Nutrition Decade are to assess and evaluate the achievements in individual policy areas of the ICN2 Framework for Action, as reflected in the actions areas of the Work Programme of the Decade, over the time period from 2016 to 2020. The Mid-term Review aims to identify focus areas for priority action and promising opportunities in each of the six action areas for future progress from 2021 to 2025. This assessment will guide the revision of the ‘living part’ of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade as appropriate.

The process will include a series of consultations and dialogues with member states, civil society organizations, private sector, UN partner agencies and others, as well as an open online consultation. Finally, a global event is envisioned to be organized to underscore the achievements of the first half of the Nutrition Decade and set the stage for the priorities during the second half. More information is provided in the concept note.

The joint FAO/WHO Nutrition Decade Secretariat has developed the Mid-term Review Foresight paper, which will serve as the background paper for the consultation process. Reflecting on the broader development in nutrition globally, this paper develops a vision on actions to be taken in the different areas of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade, considering specific advances and opportunities in individual policy areas.

Mid-term review foresight paper

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Agrobiodiversity, School Gardens and Healthy Diets Promoting Biodiversity, Food and Sustainable Nutrition

This book critically assesses the role of agrobiodiversity in school gardens and its contribution to diversifying diets, promoting healthy eating habits and improving nutrition among schoolchildren as well as other benefits relating to climate change adaptation, ecoliteracy and greening school spaces.

Many schoolchildren suffer from various forms of malnutrition and it is important to address their nutritional status given the effects it has on their health, cognition, and subsequently their educational achievement. Schools are recognized as excellent platforms for promoting lifelong healthy eating and improving long-term, sustainable nutrition security required for optimum educational outcomes. This book reveals the multiple benefits of school gardens for improving nutrition and education for children and their families. It examines issues such as school feeding, community food production, school gardening, nutritional education and the promotion of agrobiodiversity, and draws on international case studies, from both developed and developing nations, to provide a comprehensive global assessment.

This book will be essential reading for those interested in promoting agrobiodiversity, sustainable nutrition and healthy eating habits in schools and public institutions more generally. It identifies recurring and emerging issues, establishes best practices, identifies key criteria for success and advises on strategies for scaling up and scaling out elements to improve the uptake of school gardens.

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Traditional farming system in Brazil added to global agricultural heritage list

A traditional farming system in the Southern Espinhaço Mountain Range of the Minas Gerais State in Brazil has been recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). It is the first time a Brazilian site has won the GIAHS recognition.
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Consultants (various positions) – USAID Advancing Nutrition

USAID Advancing Nutrition, the Agency's flagship multi-sectoral nutrition project, seeks qualified consultants to support work in a wide range of technical areas, including:

  • Food Systems
  • Health Systems
  • Early Childhood Development
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
  • Social and Behavior Change
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
  • Capacity strengthening
  • Knowledge Management
  • Finance & Operations

Consultancies may be short or long term and may include international travel. Interested parties with experience in one or more of the above areas are encouraged to register here. Qualified candidates will be contacted with a detailed scope of work.

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Acute food insecurity hotspots need urgent attention

While global attention has focused on the swarms of Desert Locusts attacking crops in East Africa, a number of other countries and regions are also confronting serious food security threats and require support, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
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Global action plan on child wasting: a framework for action to accelerate progress in preventing and managing child wasting and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) incorporated the WHA targets to reduce the proportion of children suffering from wasting to <5% by 2025 and <3% by 2030.  Yet, since these targets were adopted, the proportion of wasted children has remained largely unchanged. Today, an estimated 7.3% (50 million) of all children under five suffer from wasting at any given time.  In 2019, the Principals of the UN agencies directly involved in the prevention and treatment of child wasting issued a joint statement calling for greater action to address this urgent problem (Joint statement by the Principles of FAO, WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and UN OCHA (https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/joint-statement-principals-fao-who-unhcr-unicef-wfp-and-un-ocha). 

WHO coordinated the development of the Global Action Plan (GAP) framework in close collaboration with FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP, highlighting priority actions on the prevention and treatment of child wasting. The draft GAP went through a series of consultations including regional workshops in Asia and Africa, and a CSO/donor consultation in New York and a technical consultation in Geneva.  The GAP framework on Child Wasting underwent a public online review process and this final version has been endorsed by FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO.  

This Framework identifies four critical outcomes to achieving the SDG targets on child wasting and to improving early detection and treatment for those who need it. Under each of these outcomes, the Framework identifies pathways to accelerate the delivery of priority actions and to create a more enabling environment for their success.  The GAP framework aims to shift the collective focus towards prevention and scaling up evidence-informed treatment, and towards a more sustainable systems-wide approach.

This Framework will enable UN agencies to develop a more targeted Roadmap for Action, supporting countries where children are most vulnerable and most affected by wasting to develop concrete, context-specific commitments, targets and actions to accelerate progress and contribute to reaching the global SDG targets   Discussions to identify commitments and actions by governments and other key stakeholders will continue throughout 2020, with the aim to release the comprehensive global plan at the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, to be held in December 2020.

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FAO prioritizes staff wellbeing in the fight to contain COVID-19

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has over the last five weeks implemented a series of precautionary measures to protect its employees and their families against the threat of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
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Securing sustainable food systems hinges on gender equality

The three United Nations Rome-based agencies dedicated to food and agriculture called today for bolder action to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls in the agricultural sector and beyond.
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Dry weather increases by two the list of countries in need of external food assistance

The effects of inadequate rainfall on agricultural production added two countries – Namibia and Tanzania – to FAO’s list of countries in need of external assistance for food, adding to strains triggered by desert locusts, says FAO's quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.
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World food prices drop in February

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 180.5 points in February, down 1.0 percent from the previous month but still 8.1 percent higher than a year earlier.
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Germany contributes EUR 50 million to strengthen resilience in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through the German Development Bank KfW, has contributed EUR 50 million ($54 million) to a resilience building programme to be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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