High Level Political Forum Side-event: Leaving no-one behind in the fight against malnutrition in all its forms

 

 

High Level Political Forum Side-event

Leaving no-one behind in the fight against malnutrition in all its forms

Statement by Dr. José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General

Delivered by Ms. Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the UN

July 19, 2016, UN, New York

 

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

On April 1, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 - 2025 the Decade of Action on Nutrition.

The UN resolution also endorsed the two outcome documents of the Second International Conference on Nutrition: the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action, which called for a Decade of Action on Nutrition.

Ladies and gentlemen:

Why do we need a Decade of Action on Nutrition?

First, malnutrition in all its forms has a terribly high cost, affecting physical and intellectual development.

Second, although we have made significant progress in reducing undernourishment, stunting and wasting, the overall nutrition situation is still far from good. 

We have nearly 800 million people chronically undernourished, another two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. About 1.9 billion people are overweight of which 600 million are obese.

Third, for undernourished children, malnutrition imposes a life sentence as it affects physical and intellectual development.

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

It is time to act quickly to give every woman, child and man the opportunity to realize their full potential.

We have the unique opportunity to work together.

We call on countries and groups everywhere to declare their commitments and then act.

We have only 10 years to make an impact; the clock is running.

The Decade of Action will give us the opportunity to keep the nutrition momentum alive and share lessons learned and best practices from successful policies and programmes.

This is the first time we have a Decade of Action on Nutrition.

I conclude with 3 key messages:

The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition is for everybody.

The Decade of Action on Nutrition is a step towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

The Decade of Action on Nutrition has begun—let’s work together to end the injustice of malnutrition in all its forms.

Thank you.

 

 

The message from FAO Director-General Dr. José Graziano da Silva ends here. Before I hand over the floor, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight that nutrition will be at center-stage in other occasions during the year.

A nutrition commitments event is planned for the UN General Assembly in September.

And in December, FAO and W-H-O will host in Rome the International Symposium on “Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition”.

Let me recall also that 2016 was declared by the General Assembly as the International Year of Pulses in 2016.

Pulses are nutritious food. They are high in protein, low in fat and contain zero cholesterol. They also taste good.

As part of the celebration of the International Year, FAO and UN Food Garden are partnering with the UN food caterer to serve pulse-based meals at the UN cafeterias. You are all invited to try these dishes while they last. Thank you for your attention.