2018 ECOSOC Management Meeting

 

 

 

2018 United Nations Economic and Social Council Coordination and Management Meetings

Joint statement by FAO, IFAD, WFP and WHO
Werner Obermeyer, Deputy Executive Director, World Health Organization

I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of FAO, IFAD and WFP.  We thank the Chair of the CFS, Ambassador Mario Arvelo, and the Coordinator of UNSCN, Ms Stineke Oenema, for their reports and the work being carried out. They have both pointed out the worrisome global situation regarding food security and nutrition.

We would like to highlight the contributions of both the CFS and the UNSCN to the success of the Nutrition Decade.  

We welcome the announcement by the CFS and all stakeholders for the forthcoming Voluntary Guidelines for food systems and nutrition, that will be a concrete and substantial contribution to the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and to the elimination of all forms of malnutrition.

UNSCN, the UN Standing Committee on nutrition, is using its convening and coordinating mechanisms to support the CFS in this effort and is also reaching out to other actors within and beyond the UN System to support the implementation of the Nutrition Decade.

In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to inform that the first report on the implementation of the Nutrition Decade will be presented to the UN General Assembly at its current session.

We would also like to highlight UNSCN’s efforts to support the discussion of nutrition across UN governing bodies and committees such as the World Health Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women). UNSCN has provided advocacy and technical support to these processes, including developing relevant discussion papers about new and emerging topics related to nutrition.  

In addition, we would like to commend the Committee on World Food Security for its most recent achievements, made possible by its inclusive model, including the policy recommendations on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition. And we welcome its commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and especially General Recommendation 34 on the rights of rural women.  

Bringing together Governments, UN System and different actors is essential to end hunger and to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. While food security and nutrition has a natural home in Rome and Geneva, it is important that it remains high in the United Nations agenda in New York, given your role in the global follow up and review of processes such as the International Decade of Action on Nutrition and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

We are also working closely together to promote food security and nutrition, a cornerstone for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. But while this effort resides in Sustainable Development Goal Number Two, it goes far beyond it in supporting the achievement of the full 2030 Agenda.  

I would like to, finally, on behalf of WHO, express appreciation for the initiative on promoting food security, which will shortly be launched by the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica.

Thank you for your attention.