FAO commits to the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Towards SMART actions

Source: Towards country-specific SMART commitments for action on nutrition © FAO, 2016

On 1 April 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, through its Resolution 70/259, proclaimed 2016–2025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (Nutrition Decade). Under the normative framework of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Nutrition Decade marks a new ambition and direction in global nutrition action to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in all its forms and reduce the burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in all age groups.

Nutrition Decade is driven by Members States of the UN and convened by the the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and including other UN bodies and other entities such as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN).

FAO and WHO have drawn upon feedback from many stakeholders to produce the first draft work programme of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (Feedback from Member States on the first draft).
This work programme is a living document and is being developed through an inclusive, continuous, and collaborative process, building upon and connecting the independent initiatives of governments and their many partners.

As co-convener of the implementation of ICN2 and the Nutrition Decade, the
FAO will focus its efforts to the following priority areas:

1.      Strengthening national information systems for informed policy-making

2.      Supporting countries with policy and technical assistance to strengthen the focus on nutrition in their agricultural policies and investments

3.      Supporting and building capacity of countries to promote Healthy Diets

4.      Supporting countries to incorporate a food systems approach as a sustainable way of addressing malnutrition in all its forms

5.      Strengthening and promoting nutrition governance, accountability and communication

For further information, we welcome you to read the full commitment HERE.

UN and other international organizations and relevant stakeholders are encoraged to contribute to achieving the goals of the Decade with specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) commitments. This will help all stakeholders understand what action is intended and improve tracking.

Initiatives such as the Global Action Network on Sustainable Food from the Ocean for Food Security and Nutrition (launched in July 2017, Norway) are concrete examples of how enhanced coordination and cooperation amongst all actors, and driven integrated SMART commitment across multiple sectors, can accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and eliminate all forms of malnutrition. 

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