Author Archive for: UNSCN Secretariat

14:30 (Geneva time - GMT+2).

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Covid-19 Crisis: Global Crisis, Global Risk and Global Consequences is a new webinar series that examines various possible and visible consequences of the current crisis including its strategic and economic implications, impact on global governance, on gender or the role of technology.

The webinar is free and conducted in English. The first webinar session will provide an overview of the strategic, global health security, crisis management, governance, economic and financial implications of this crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. In just three months it has spread globally, infected nearly 5 million people, and put half the world in lock-down. With supply chains disrupted, and even multi-national businesses threatened, the economic slowdown has delivered a deeper, more rapid shock than the 2008 global financial crisis. And the accompanying socio-economic impact on health, wellbeing and livelihoods threatens to derail the global compact to “leave no-one behind” that underpins Agenda 2030 and the SDGs.

This pandemic has hit the most vulnerable and unequal societies the hardest. The differential impacts of the health crisis and lockdown have exacerbated pre-existing inequalities - widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots and wiping out decades of progress on poverty eradication. These impacts will last into future generations – through sharp rises in malnutrition and stunting; permanent loss of educational opportunities for children who cannot connect from home; and the toll of death and morbidity among the – usually female and low-paid - health and care workforce who form our first line of defence against the disease.

The crisis has clearly demonstrated that all societies are interconnected and deeply interdependent. These factors drove the global solidarity behind Agenda 2030 and the SDGs that drew support from 193 global leaders at the UN sustainable development summit in 2015. And this compact to build a sustainable future for people, planet, prosperity and peace is the only legitimate, universal and internationally recognised vision for humanity we have. But as poorer countries and vulnerable communities fall further off-track, while richer countries reallocate resources to deal with the immediate impacts of the pandemic, how can we reboot and reshape our efforts to reach the SDGs? What actions must we take to “build back better”?

This webinar will feature presentations on how the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 crisis have affected and are affected by social and economic inequalities, and the likely impacts on the achievement of the SDGs. Focusing on the latest evidence from nutrition; education; women, children and adolescent’s health and gender equality, the panel will make recommendations for urgent action to stem growing inequality and “leave no-one behind” – and will set out their prescriptions for a sustainable, fair and secure post-COVID world.

19 May 2020 10:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join the high-level congressional webinar briefing co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Alliance to End Hunger in conjunction with the House and Senate Hunger Caucuses to learn about the key findings of the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises and opportunities to prevent an unprecedented hunger catastrophe.

Featured Speakers

QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Johan Swinnen, Director-General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Co-Chair of the Senate Hunger Caucus
Congressman James McGovern (MA-02) and Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus
Amb. Tony Hall, Executive Director Emeritus, Alliance to End Hunger
Dominique Burgeon, Director, Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, FAO

For the first time since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, UN and multilateral agencies from across health, education, agriculture, WASH, and social welfare sectors have come together to make a renewed commitment to school health and nutrition. The partnership, Stepping up effective school health and nutrition aims to advance the health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents, so they are ready to learn and thrive, and can contribute meaningfully to the future of their communities and countries.

The joint call for action comes as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes 90% of the world’s student population out of school and brings to light the important role schools play in protecting the health and well-being of learners. Millions of children are now missing the one nutritious meal a day they received through school feeding programmes. Millions more can no longer access the basic health services and critical health education provided in schools across the world.

Through united action, the partnership, which includes FAO, GPE, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNSCN, the World Bank, WFP, and WHO, invites governments and other partners to join them in renewing their own commitments to school health and nutrition and to increase and better align investments and efforts to  bring proven interventions to scale and respond to children’s learning and growth needs holistically, and ultimately build the human capital of countries.

The 2020 Global Nutrition Report looks beyond global and national patterns, revealing significant inequalities in nutrition outcomes within countries and populations. Based on the best-available data, in-depth analysis and expert opinion rooted in evidence, the report identifies critical actions to achieve nutrition equity. Everyone deserves access to healthy, affordable food and quality nutrition care.

Executive Summary

Download the Report here

Deadline for submission: 20 June 2020

Background

The Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) established the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) Subgroup on Policy Actions in 2018 to support WHO’s work in developing evidence-informed guidance on effective policy measures to support Member States in developing enabling food environment to promote healthy diets and good nutrition.

At a meeting convened in Qingdao, China from 09 to 13 December 2019, the NUGAG Subgroup on Policy Actions initiated the work on developing guidelines for school food and nutrition policies.

To inform the work of the NUGAG Subgroup on Policy Actions, a systematic review is currently being conducted on the effects of policies or interventions that influence the school food environment.

Call for data

To complement published data that are being identified via systematic searching of relevant scientific literature databases, WHO is requesting interested Member States and other parties to submit available evidence reviews for effects of policies or interventions that influence the school food environment, including grey literature or studies. Evidence must be for implemented policies or interventions that influenced or changed the school food environment, which could include:

• Nutrition standards or rules that determine the quality of food served or sold in and around schools
• Marketing restrictions of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages (FNABs) in and around schools
• Nudging interventions promoting healthy food behaviour in the school environment (e.g. product placement)
• Pricing policies to promote healthier alternatives (e.g. subsidies of healthy foods; higher cost of unhealthy options)
• Direct food provision to students in schools (e.g. meal programmes; vegetable and fruit distribution)

Data and information being sought include evaluations of implemented policies or interventions, and that report on one or more of the following outcomes:

• Consumption of healthy FNAB in school, out of school or overall (e.g. fruits and vegetables)
• Consumption of discretionary FNAB in school, out of school or overall (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)
• Diet (energy, total food and/or nutrient intake, nutritional quality)
• Purchasing behaviour or sales data
• Nutrient and calorie content of available foods
• Exposure to marketing of FNAB, when relevant
• Anthropometric outcomes (BMI, weight/height, height/age, etc.)
• Behaviours related to healthy dietary habits
• Educational outcomes (school absenteeism, educational attainment, school achievement)
• Micronutrient status
• Prices of available foods
• Portion sizes served or sold
• Attitudes towards food
• Blood glucose, Blood lipids (TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, TG), Blood pressure
• Morbidity (e.g. caries)

Acceptable types of studies include, but are not limited to:

• Randomized controlled trials
• Cluster randomized controlled trials
• Controlled before-after studies
• Interrupted time-series studies (uncontrolled or controlled with at least three data points before and after a clearly defined intervention (in terms of content and timing).
• Prospective controlled cohort studies
• Qualitative studies, process evaluations or policy analyses may also be submitted

When submitting data, please provide as much analytical and descriptive information as possible, including the following:

• Identity and affiliation of the author(s) of the evaluation/analysis
• Date of evaluation/analysis
• Characteristics of the population (e.g. age-group, sample size, setting)
• Description of the policy intervention (e.g. mandatory vs voluntary, national or subnational)
• Detailed description of methodologies
• Outcomes assessed

If submitting an evaluation or analysis that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, please provide bibliographic information.

Data must be submitted by 20 June 2020 to be considered for inclusion in the on-going systematic review which is scheduled to be completed by October 2020. Data must be submitted through the online submission form athttps://extranet.who.int/dataform/857866?lang=en. Detailed instructions for submitting data are provided in the online form.  Data submitted by email or in hard copy will not be considered.

This call for data can also be viewed online at https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/call-for-data-on-nutrition-school-food-environment-2020.

Questions regarding the call for data should be addressed to NPUinfo@who.int.

23 April 2020, 10:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join the second edition of FAO Insights, featuring Anna Lartey, Director of the Nutrition and Food Systems Division, FAO, to talk about nutrition in the time of COVID-19. The pandemic is causing many changes in the daily lives of people around the world, but there are things that can be done to maintain a healthy lifestyle in these difficult times. Register to learn how the pandemic can impact our food systems and how to maintain a healthy diet during COVID-19.

FAO Insights is a new webinar series presented by FAO North America to share FAO’s knowledge and expertise with policymakers, farmers and other stakeholders in North America and beyond.

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