Author Archive for: UNSCN Secretariat

Overweight and obesity are a growing threat to children’s well-being globally, largely driven by a trap of unhealthy and highly processed foods combined with a lack of physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Almost 40 million under-fives around the world have overweight, equivalent to nearly 6 per cent of this age group. Among children aged 5 to 19 years rates are significantly higher; it is estimated that more than 340 million have overweight, almost 18 per cent. Growth is most rapid in low- and middle-income countries. These are conditions that disadvantage children and can lead to a lifetime of diseases, including some of the world’s biggest killers such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

UNICEF’s Programme Guidance on the Prevention of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents provides strategic guidance to countries on how to adapt the programming and country support work to respond to the changing face of malnutrition, including  a focus on regulatory actions to improving children’s food environments.

UNICEF’s Prevention of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents Advocacy Strategy and Guidance is an invaluable tool to help UNICEF offices and partners translate global guidance and recommendations into strong and effective advocacy work on this important issue. It is a new tool that can inform work by UNICEF and others at the country, regional, and global level.

18-22 January 2021

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference on agri-food policy issues. For the past twelve years it has been held at the beginning of the International Green Week in Berlin. Around 2,000 international visitors from politics, industry, science and civil society discuss a central topic/theme; this year's theme is: "How to feed the world in times of pandemics and climate change?"

More info at https://www.gffa-berlin.de/en/ 

Every year, unhealthy diets are responsible for millions of deaths and lost years of good health. Urgent action is needed to stop the growing consumption of foods and beverages that lead to unhealthy diets. Of greatest concern are excess consumption of sodium and salt, sugars and fats, particularly trans fats, and low consumption of whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

Governments worldwide have a unique opportunity and also responsibility to lead by example through the implementation of healthy public food procurement and service policies, requiring that all food and beverages served or sold in public settings contribute to the promotion of healthy diets.

Healthy public food procurement and service policies can contribute to enabling the population to consume healthy diets and reducing the burden of all forms of malnutrition, in particular, premature death and disability from preventable diet-related noncommunicable diseases. They can also contribute to increased productivity and educational attainment; create purchasing power, which can increase demand for, and availability of healthier food and reduce costs; strengthen local food systems by promoting purchasing from local producers, and improve health equity across populations.

The action framework will support policymakers or programme managers working on public food procurement or service, either at a national or subnational level including at regional, provincial or city level to develop new public food procurement and service policies or to strengthen or expand existing policies. This action framework provides an overview of how to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a healthy public food procurement policy.

School Nutrition Inventory, edition 1-2020

Schools offer an opportune and favorable setting to accelerate action and contribute to the systemic action required to end malnutrition in all its forms. The benefits of school nutrition initiatives can extend well beyond nutrition – improving school enrolment and attendance, empowering women and girls, creating value chains for local food producers, supporting sustainable agriculture and ensuring safe and protective environments for growth and learning.

UN agencies have worked to develop a range of tools and resources to support governments, institutions and partners in advancing school-based and school-linked nutrition action in all contexts, including protracted crisis and humanitarian settings.

The Community of Practice on School Nutrition, facilitated by UNSCN, has published the first edition of their Inventory on School Nutrition initiatives. This inventory takes stock on the most up to date guidance, tools and resources from UN agencies in collaboration with their partner organizations to advance the school nutrition agenda and provides a quick reference tool for anyone looking to take action on school nutrition.

The School Nutrition CoP plans to publish yearly editions to update the inventory content under UN Nutrition, in order to provide an up-to-date repository of UN agencies core work in the area of school nutrition.