Global nutrition policy review 2016-2017

Country progress in creating enabling policy environments for promoting healthy diets and nutrition

The Global Nutrition Policy Review 2016–2017 is the report of the second comprehensive analysis of nutrition-related policy environment, coordination mechanisms, available capacities and actions being taken in the WHO Member States. 176 Member States (91%) and one area responded to the survey carried out between July 2016 and December 2017 on topic areas related to infant and young child nutrition, school health and nutrition, promotion of healthy diets, vitamin and mineral nutrition, prevention and management of acute malnutrition and nutrition, and infectious disease. The findings presented in this report will help in tracking progress towards achieving the commitments made at the 2014 Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and will also serve as a baseline for monitoring country actions in achieving the commitments of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025).

Great progress has been made in terms of developing and implementing national policies since the Global Nutrition Policy Review 2009–2010 was conducted, with national policies increasingly having specific nutrition goals and targets which are in line with the global nutrition and diet-related NCD targets 2025 adopted by the World Health Assembly and subsequently by the ICN2 and the UN General Assembly as part of the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Countries are also implementing relevant actions, in particular to address stunting as well as overweight and obesity. More countries are also taking actions to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. In contrast, there has been a notable weakening in the area of school health and nutrition.

Globally, changes are happening in the nutrition-related policy environment with an increasing number of countries taking regulatory action to improve food environment to promote healthy diets and nutrition. These include the implementation of nutrition labelling, fiscal policies, trans fat bans, reformulation of food products, and restricting marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children.

Nutrition governance has also been strengthened since the last Global Nutrition Policy Review was conducted in 2009-2010, with a higher proportion of countries reporting that they have established nutrition coordination mechanisms in high government offices, such as in the office of the President or Prime Minister, reflecting the growing recognition of the importance of the nutrition agenda. However, current progress and trends in achieving the global nutrition and diet-related NCD targets 2025 are not sufficient, and these global targets are unlikely to be achieved unless accelerated actions are implemented worldwide.

Access the publication here.

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2018 Global Nutrition Report: Shining a light to spur action on nutrition

The 2018 Global Nutrition Report shares insights into the current state of global nutrition, highlighting the unacceptably high burden of malnutrition in the world. It identifies areas where progress has been made in recent years but argues that it is too slow and too inconsistent.

The report puts forward five critical steps that are needed to speed up progress to end malnutrition in all its forms and argues that, if we act now, it is not too late to achieve this goal. In fact, we have an unprecedented opportunity to do so. The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide global and national impetus to address malnutrition and expedite progress.

2018 Global Nutrition Report Italy launch

20 February 2019, 10:00am (CET)
WFP HQ, Rome (Italy)

The event will present and discuss the key findings of the 2018 Global Nutrition Report, highlighting the many connections across the Sustainable Development Goals for nutrition. The session will be an engaging occasion for sharing insights and commitments regarding nutrition action at all levels.

Please bring with you a smartphone, tablet or laptop to participate in this interactive event.

Speakers include:

  • Senior Representative of the Government of Kenya, SUN Member.
  • Jessica Fanzo, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University
  • Anna Lartey, Director, Nutrition, FAO
  • Lauren Landis, Director, Nutrition, WFP
  • Margarita Astralaga, Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division, IFAD

Register for this event.

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Call for Contributions: UNSCN Nutrition – Edition 44

Open until 10 January 2019

UNSCN Nutrition is the flagship, peer-reviewed publication of the UNSCN, previously entitled UNSCN News. The 2019 edition will focus on food environments to enable healthy and nutritious diets.

On a daily basis, people acquire and consume food through their food environments. It is the link between diets and the wider food system. It considers the ability to access nutritious food affordably and conveniently. It is also shaped by external factors, such as the price and availability of food, as well as the taste, marketing and regulations that impact what is being promoted.

There are various ways in which the food environment has been defined. The 2017 HLPE defines it as “the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food”(HLPE 2017). Others have defined food environments more in terms of the foods themselves, as “all the foods which are available and accessible to people in the settings in which they go about their daily lives. That is, the range of foods in supermarkets, small retail outlets, wet markets, street food stalls, coffee shops, tea houses, school canteens, restaurants and all the other venues where people procure and eat food” (FAO), encompassing the aspects of availability, affordability, convenience, and desirability (Herforth and Ahmed 2015).

From local markets to megastores, food environments are changing rapidly as people move from rural to urban areas and as dietary preferences evolve. This evolution has also led to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and deaths from non-communicable diseases, especially in high income countries. Food labelling, product positioning, advertising, promotions and marketing are particularly influential, especially when children are the target audience. When designed effectively, policies and fiscal measures can positively influence what is available for consumers and lead to healthier choices. Efforts aimed at introducing greater nutrition into the supply chain, improving post-harvest practices and increasing the nutrient content of foods through, for example, food fortification, are also essential.

This Call for Contributions welcomes academically rigorous examples of the positive and negative effects of our current food environments on nutrition. Programs that increase consumer demand for healthy food such as consumer behaviour change communications, social marketing and nutrition education are also welcome.

KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

  • What have national or local governments done to improve food environments?
  • What has been the impact of price interventions on consumption?
  • How can inherently nutritious foods be made more convenient for consumers? What is the role of private sector?
  • What workforce development and training opportunities are needed to build the necessary skills and leadership capacity to improve food environments?
  • What are some specific observations around how food environments are changing in LMICs?
  • What are some examples of public procurement affecting food environments?

We welcome contributions on the following categories:

Feature articles: 3,000 words articles related to the general topic of the publication. The articles will be submitted to peer review and can include conceptual contributions or practical examples of policies and programmes.

Speaker's Corner: 1,500 words articles with the authors’ views regarding a hot topic in nutrition policy or programme. The section sometimes features a counterpoint by another author holding an opposite opinion to stimulate debate on important issues. Your contribution could also serve to share your food environment story and how that has impacted the health and well-being of your family and community.

Publications: recent publications of relevance to nutrition, including manuals, tools and guidelines that are usually not found in regular bookstores. Max. 200 words per submission.

Please send your contributions electronically to the UNSCN News to SCN@fao.org with the title “UNSCN Nutrition Proposal”. For editorial information, please refer to the UNSCN News Guidelines for Contributors available here.

Photo credit: FAO/Giulio Napolitano

Deadline: 10 January 2019

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Call for Contributions: UNSCN Nutrition – Edition 44

Open until 10 JANUARY 2019

UNSCN Nutrition is the flagship, peer-reviewed publication of the UNSCN, previously entitled UNSCN News. The 2019 edition will focus on food environments to enable healthy and nutritious diets.

On a daily basis, people acquire and consume food through their food environments. It is the link between diets and the wider food system. It considers the ability to access nutritious food affordably and conveniently. It is also shaped by external factors, such as the price and availability of food, as well as the taste, marketing and regulations that impact what is being promoted.

There are various ways in which the food environment has been defined. The 2017 HLPE defines it as “the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food”(HLPE 2017). Others have defined food environments more in terms of the foods themselves, as “all the foods which are available and accessible to people in the settings in which they go about their daily lives. That is, the range of foods in supermarkets, small retail outlets, wet markets, street food stalls, coffee shops, tea houses, school canteens, restaurants and all the other venues where people procure and eat food” (FAO), encompassing the aspects of availability, affordability, convenience, and desirability (Herforth and Ahmed 2015).

From local markets to megastores, food environments are changing rapidly as people move from rural to urban areas and as dietary preferences evolve. This evolution has also led to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and deaths from non-communicable diseases, especially in high income countries. Food labelling, product positioning, advertising, promotions and marketing are particularly influential, especially when children are the target audience. When designed effectively, policies and fiscal measures can positively influence what is available for consumers and lead to healthier choices. Efforts aimed at introducing greater nutrition into the supply chain, improving post-harvest practices and increasing the nutrient content of foods through, for example, food fortification, are also essential.

This Call for Contributions welcomes academically rigorous examples of the positive and negative effects of our current food environments on nutrition. Programs that increase consumer demand for healthy food such as consumer behaviour change communications, social marketing and nutrition education are also welcome.

KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

  • What have national or local governments done to improve food environments?
  • What has been the impact of price interventions on consumption?
  • How can inherently nutritious foods be made more convenient for consumers? What is the role of private sector?
  • What workforce development and training opportunities are needed to build the necessary skills and leadership capacity to improve food environments?
  • What are some specific observations around how food environments are changing in LMICs?
  • What are some examples of public procurement affecting food environments?

We welcome contributions on the following categories:

Feature articles: 3,000 words articles related to the general topic of the publication. The articles will be submitted to peer review and can include conceptual contributions or practical examples of policies and programmes.

Speaker's Corner: 1,500 words articles with the authors’ views regarding a hot topic in nutrition policy or programme. The section sometimes features a counterpoint by another author holding an opposite opinion to stimulate debate on important issues. Your contribution could also serve to share your food environment story and how that has impacted the health and well-being of your family and community.

Publications: recent publications of relevance to nutrition, including manuals, tools and guidelines that are usually not found in regular bookstores. Max. 200 words per submission.

Please send your contributions electronically to the UNSCN News to SCN@fao.org with the title “UNSCN Nutrition Proposal”. For editorial information, please refer to the UNSCN News Guidelines for Contributors available here.

Photo credit: FAO/Giulio Napolitano

Deadline: 10 January 2019

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International Conference on “Climate Change Impacts on Food & Nutrition Security”

 

The conference will be a five-day event, including a field visit, from 12-16th November 2018 at the Conference Centre, Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Experts in the field of sustainable agriculture, food security, nutrition security, climate change, integrated pest management, organic farming, agro-ecology, value addition, soil health management, policy experts in climate change and sustainable agriculture will be presenting the lead papers.

The main aim is to bring together leading local, regional and international researchers, academicians and practitioners in the field of climate change, sustainable agriculture and food security to accomplish the following objectives:

  • To share cutting-edge research in sustainable agriculture with special reference to food security and climate change

  • To build and strengthen regional and international networks

  • To develop climate resilient sustainable agriculture models that are suitable for different conditions

  • To develop sustainable agriculture and climate change policies to be shared with relevant stakeholders for consideration and adoption

 

 

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Policy Brief launch “Preventing nutrient loss & waste across the food system”

7 November 2018, 14:00 – 17:00 (CET), FAO HQ, Rome (Italy) 

On 7 November 2018, the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition will launch its new policy brief: "Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: Policy actions for high-quality diets".

This brief argues that a reduction in food loss and waste, particularly in high nutrient foods, has the potential to yield substantial nutritional benefits, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the advancement of the Decade of Action on Nutrition. It also argues why addressing food waste and loss should be a new priority for improving nutrition.

On the panel:

  • Sir John Beddington, Co-Chair, Global Panel on Agriculture; and Food Systems for Nutrition.
  • Prof K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India; and Global Panel Member.
  • Rachel Kyte, CEO, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All); and Panel Member.
  • Prof Patrick Webb, Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and Director, USAID’s Feed the Future Nutrition Innovation Lab.

If you wish to attend in person, the registration is compulsory. Please REGISTER HERE. 

Alternatively, you can watch the event live from the FAO 

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Nutrition News – November 2018

In an effort to present nutrition related news at the global and country level, UNSCN and the UNN Secretariats are teaming up to produce the first comprehensive overview of recent developments supported and/or coordinated by the UN system.

This first edition includes:

GLOBAL UPDATES

  • The Third High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs
  • Nutrition in the 2030 Agenda
  • Nutrition Outcomes from 45th Session of the Committee on World Food Security

COUNTRY UPDATES

  • Multi-sectoral nutrition mapping exercise in the Democratic Republic of Congo highlights opportunities for reaching more vulnerable people
  • Mapping exercise fuels multi-sectoral action to account for nutrition results in Mali
  • Lesotho bridging the gap for better nutrition capacity
  • ‘CAN’ helps sensitise the media about nutrition in Haiti

PUBLICATIONS and a CALENDAR OF NUTRITION RELATED EVENTS

You can access you copy here.

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A4NH 2017 Annual Report

The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) 2017 Annual Report report highlights the program's accomplishments and activities during the first year of its second phase.

Detailed in the report are research, events, and results from across A4NH's five research flagships and four focus countries, including:

An interactive version of the report is available, while the full report can be downloaded here.

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UNICEF Programme Guidance for the Second Decade

UNICEF Programme Guidance for the Second Decade: Programming with and for Adolescents provides an overview of the strategic direction UNICEF will assume to advance children’s quality of life in the second decade of life.
 
The Guidance underscores the importance of adequate nutrition for optimal growth and development in adolescent girls and boys. It emphasizes the provision of nutrition counseling and services, the promotion of healthy and diversified diets - including fortified foods – and, where necessary, the use of micronutrient supplements.
 
The Guidance recognizes schools as a critical platform to deliver nutrition interventions and improve nutrition literacy, while acknowledging that school-based interventions need to be supported by community-based approaches and other delivery models, especially to reach out-of-school adolescents. Healthy eating and well-nourished bodies and brains are the foundation for improved learning outcomes and brighter futures, the core of the recently launched Generation Unlimited Partnership.
 
To complement this overarching Guidance, UNICEF will issue Programme Guidance on Adolescent Nutrition in early 2019 to detail the organization’s approach for the operationalization of evidence-based interventions to address all forms of malnutrition among adolescent boys and girls.

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The Safe Food Imperative : Accelerating Progress in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Food safety hazards are increasingly being recognized as a major public health problem worldwide, yet among developing countries, there is limited understanding of the wider-ranging socio-economic costs of unsafe food and the benefits of remedial or preventative measures. This limited evidence base has led many countries to underinvest in food safety, or invest inefficiently in reaction to serious outbreaks of foodborne illness, other food scares, or trade interruptions. For many countries experiencing rapid urbanization and dietary changes, the growing complexity of food safety hazards is outpacing if not overwhelming prevailing food safety management capacity-both in government and in supply chains.

This report strengthens the economic case for increased public investment and other policy attention on food safety in developing countries. It is directed primarily at policy-makers, although researchers, development practitioners and food safety specialists will also find its content of value. By synthesizing and interpreting the available evidence on the economic costs of unsafe food in relation to both domestic markets and trade, the report positions food safety as an integral part of economic development and food system modernization. It goes on to provide guidance on ways in which public policy and investment can improve food safety awareness and behavior from farm to fork.

You can access the publication here.

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Leaving no one behind – making the case for adolescent girls

22 - 23 October 2018
IFAD HQ, Rome (Italy)

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Save the Children Italy are hosting an international conference entitled “Leaving no one behind – making the case for adolescent girls”, which will be held on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 October 2018 at IFAD headquarters, Rome, Italy.

The conference will highlight the importance of investing in adolescents to ensure that they grow up and are educated in a healthy and safe environment to prevent the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, food insecurity and poverty. 

The purpose of this event aims at sustaining on-going momentum of identifying solutions to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, and to contribute to the achievement of the global nutrition goals and objectives of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition.

Institutions, practitioners, technical specialists, academia and civil society organizations will join the conference and contribute to the debate.

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World Food Day 2018 – Zero Hunger

World Food Day 2018 will mark the 73rd anniversary of FAO’s founding. One of the most celebrated days in the UN calendar, events organized by FAO country offices, governments, local authorities and other partners in over 130 countries across the world will call for increased action to achieve Zero Hunger.

The official World Food Day (WFD) ceremony on 16 October at FAO headquarters will be an opportunity for leaders and key global players in the drive to achieve Zero Hunger and eliminate malnutrition, to remind the world that Zero Hunger is still possible if we can come together and take account of lessons learned, best practices and all evidence available. The campaign will raise the alarm over recently increased hunger figures and call on countries and other stakeholders to get back on track.

Working for Zero Hunger

After a period of decline, world hunger is on the rise again. Today, over 815 million people are suffering chronic undernourishment, according to the latest FAO report. Conflict, extreme weather events linked to climate change, economic slowdown and rapidly increasing overweight and obesity levels are reversing progress made in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Now is the time to get back on track. The world can achieve Zero Hunger if we join forces across nations, continents, sectors and professions, and act on evidence.

Zero Hunger moves beyond conflict-resolution and economic growth, taking the long-term approach to build peaceful, inclusive societies.

The World Food Day is a chance to show our commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – to end hunger and malnutrition. 

Visit the World Food Day website for more information about events and activities.

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