H.M. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians participates in special FAO Seminar on Food and Nutrition

Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of the Belgians joined Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and other high-level speakers at the Special FAO Seminar on Food and Nutrition in calling for healthy diets for all. The seminar put the spotlight on innovative thinking and actions as tools to help transform agrifood systems and make healthy and sustainable diets accessible to all. 

In his opening remarks, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said solidarity, urgency and action were three crucial elements needed to achieve the necessary transformation of food systems.

Queen Mathilde, also an SDG Advocate, gave particular attention in her comments to women and children. She said that in developing countries, food systems have been especially hard hit. “The closure of schools due to lockdowns has deprived many children from their only healthy meal in a day,” Her Majesty said. “We need to make healthy food available to all, especially the most vulnerable,” she added.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was not on track to end world hunger by 2030. More than 690 million people were chronically undernourished in 2019. Across the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to tip more than 130 million additional people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020, as it intensifies the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems.

The recording of the special seminar is available here .