Partnering with WHO
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) mandate is to promote health and well-being, keep the world safe, and to serve the vulnerable. FAO and WHO collaborate on issues related to food safety, nutrition and health, combining their expertise on malnutrition, foodborne infections and the impact of climate change on food security.
Their joint efforts include research, policy development, capacity building and technical assistance, with examples including the Codex Alimentarius, the FAO/WHO Scientific Advice Programme, and the One Health initiative, implemented jointly with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) as part of the One Health Quadripartite Secretariat to address risks at the human-animal-ecosystems interface.
Memberships
FAO and WHO are Members of several groups and initiatives at both global and country-level to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Below are a few highlights:
Both organizations are Members of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a high-level forum for joint policy formation and decision-making, which guides, supports, tracks and oversees the coordination of development operations in 162 countries and territories.
Along with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), FAO and WHO are part of the One Health Quadripartite, which coordinates the inter-agency engagement to address issues related to the health of humans, animals, and the ecosystem.
FAO and WHO are also Members of UN-Nutrition, whose mission is to coordinate and leverage the response of UN agencies to address malnutrition in all its forms, along with its root causes. UN-Nutrition is universal in scope, working to safeguard the nutrition of all people in all countries.
International Observances
The United Nations designates specific days, weeks, years and decades as occasions to mark particular events or topics in order to promote, through awareness and action, the objectives of the Organization.
FAO and WHO co-convene the implementation of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025, which is a commitment by United Nations Member States to undertake 10 years of sustained and coherent implementation of policies, programmes and increased investments to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms, everywhere, leaving no one behind.
FAO and WHO also jointly celebrate World Food Safety Day every 7th of June to make people aware of food safety issues, demonstrate how to prevent illness through food safety, discuss collaborative approaches to improved food safety across sectors, and to promote solutions and ways of being more food safe.
Flagship Reports
FAO and WHO, together with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), jointly produce the annual flagship report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
The report monitors and analyses the world’s progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition. It also provides in-depth analysis on key challenges for achieving these goals in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
