Entries by UNSCN Secretariat

Second Global Summit on Food Fortification

22-23 March 2020
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Organiser: Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

The Second Global Summit on Food Fortification is part of a worldwide effort to invigorate interest, awareness and investment in Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) and biofortification – two population-based interventions with enormous potential to contribute sustainably to reducing and preventing micronutrient deficiencies globally.

The Summit aims to build consensus around the most important actions that should be pursued in order for staple food fortification to meet its potential impact to reduce malnutrition worldwide.

Find out more at the GAIN website: www.gainhealth.org/index.php/events/second-global-summit-food-fortification

or contact Sonia Perrier at Summit2020@gainhealth.org.

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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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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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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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Rethinking trade policies to support healthier diets – Global Panel Policy Brief No 13

As part of its series of briefs on food systems, the Global Panel’s new brief, Rethinking trade policies to support sustainable food systems and healthy diets, shows that there are clear benefits to aligning trade policies with the goal of providing healthy and sustainable diets for all. The brief aims to help policymakers address the key issues to take into consideration when choosing trade policies. It shows why policymakers who are committed to improving diets and nutrition should pay more attention to the value of trade instruments as part of their portfolio of actions.

The primary focus is on cross-border flows of food and agricultural commodities, exploring the effects that trade can have on the supply and affordability of nutrient-rich foods. It also considers how trends in global trade affect diets, greenhouse gas emissions and the natural environment upon which food systems depend.

The brief provides a series of policy actions and opportunities for leveraging trade to improve diets with the following top-line messages:

  • Close attention should be paid to trade policies that influence the relative price of foods within domestic markets.
  • High priority should be given to trade policies that specifically help to increase the availability and to reduce the price of nutrient-rich foods.
  • Policymakers should be alert to the effects of trade policies on the availability and pricing of imports of ultra-processed foods.
  • Policymakers should pay close attention to trade agreements which embody strong investor protections, as they can be problematic.
  • Food trade can be especially beneficial in managing price volatility and climate change risks.
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Rethinking trade policies to support healthier diets – Global Panel Policy Brief No 13

As part of its series of briefs on food systems, the Global Panel’s new brief, Rethinking trade policies to support sustainable food systems and healthy diets, shows that there are clear benefits to aligning trade policies with the goal of providing healthy and sustainable diets for all. The brief aims to help policymakers address the key issues to take into consideration when choosing trade policies. It shows why policymakers who are committed to improving diets and nutrition should pay more attention to the value of trade instruments as part of their portfolio of actions.

The primary focus is on cross-border flows of food and agricultural commodities, exploring the effects that trade can have on the supply and affordability of nutrient-rich foods. It also considers how trends in global trade affect diets, greenhouse gas emissions and the natural environment upon which food systems depend.

The brief provides a series of policy actions and opportunities for leveraging trade to improve diets with the following top-line messages:

  • Close attention should be paid to trade policies that influence the relative price of foods within domestic markets.
  • High priority should be given to trade policies that specifically help to increase the availability and to reduce the price of nutrient-rich foods.
  • Policymakers should be alert to the effects of trade policies on the availability and pricing of imports of ultra-processed foods.
  • Policymakers should pay close attention to trade agreements which embody strong investor protections, as they can be problematic.
  • Food trade can be especially beneficial in managing price volatility and climate change risks.
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UNICEF Nutrition Guidance – Improving Young Children’s Diets During the Complementary Feeding Period

Malnutrition, in all its forms, is often driven by the poor quality of diets in early childhood. Globally, 2 in 3 children are not fed the diets they need to support children’s rapid growth and brain development. While most children are still breastfeeding, the complementary foods they are fed often miss nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and foods of animal origin such as eggs, fish, dairy or meat. Furthermore, the consumption of nutrient-poor snack foods and beverages is on the rise in young children.

Good diets for young children are driven by good foods, good practices and good services. This guidance highlights the determinants and drivers of poor diets in young children, describes the most recent evidence on improving complementary foods and feeding, and presents action frameworks to improve young children’s diets using a systems approach, supporting global efforts to improve young children’s diets, in all contexts.

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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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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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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:
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IAEA’s Nutritional and Health-Related Environmental Studies Newsletter – Issue 11 (January 2020)

The 11th Nutritional & Health-related Environmental Studies Newsletter features the following articles.

Meeting outcomes

  • 4th Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS) Conference
  • Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS)
  • General Conference side events
  • Nutrition workshop for SIDS Member States

News 

  • New Technical Cooperation Cycle
  • Application of stable isotopes to understand the effect of environmental enteric dysfunction on protein metabolism and health outcomes

Publications

  • Perspective: Creating the evidence base for nutritional support in childhood cancer in low- and middle-income countries: priorities for body composition research
  • IAEA Support for the Use of Stable Isotope Techniques to Assess Micronutrients

Success stories

  • Toolbox to measure body fatness in children expanded in the European region
  • Not all food proteins are equal: how nuclear techniques help to understand protein quality in low- and middleincome countries
  • Combatting childhood obesity in Jamaica by strengthening nutrition assessment capacity

This edition also features a NAHRES Special article entitled Nutrition and Food Systems at the Climate COP in Madrid by the UNSCN.

You can download you copy here.

Read about our meetings and get inspired by some success stories on IAEA supported projects. A big accomplishment during the last months was the publication of the DBM symposium outputs; check them out. Moreover, don’t miss our news section, where you will find exciting information about the preparation of the new Technical Cooperation (TC) Cycle for 2022-2023. Finally, don’t miss the contribution made by UNSCN on the UN Climate Change Conference held in Madrid, Spain in December 2019.

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