Implementing the 2030 Agenda: Ending malnutrition and ensuring no one is left behind

Implementing the 2030 Agenda: Ending malnutrition and ensuring no one is left behind

Opening remarks by Ms. Carla Mucavi Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the United Nations, June 16, 2016, New York 

 

Thank you for giving me the floor.

Fellow speakers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

It is an honor to be here. I would like to thank Water Aid, the Global Nutrition Report, Action against Hunger, Concern Worldwide, The Hunger Project, World Vision and Save the Children for convening this event.

I congratulate the authors of the Save the Children report and the Global Nutrition Report that are being discussed today. Let me also note that, in three years, the Global Nutrition Report has gained recognition within the global nutrition architecture as a credible independent body providing comprehensive reports on the world’s nutrition situation.

The launch of the 2016 Global Nutrition Report is a golden opportunity for us to take stock of the struggle to raise levels of nutrition and to assess the challenges ahead.

I would like to highlight the importance of SMART commitments that the report emphasizes. Over the years many commitments have been made, but because they were not SMART, they have not always led to the expected results.

It is time to change this. We have the internationally agreed, time-bound Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the commitments made of the Paris Climate Change agreement. We have targets and indicators to measure our progress.

Ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition is high on the 2030 agenda. It is not only a SDG in itself, but also closely linked to other development issues.

In fact, at least 12 of the 17 SDGs make specific mention of the importance of nutrition as an input or as an outcome.

We know that food security and adequate nutrition bring a myriad of benefits, and that any investment in nutrition is an investment in good health, better learning opportunities, jobs and income, and in breaking the poverty cycle.

The Decade of Action on Nutrition established this year by a General Assembly resolution that also endorsed the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action of the Second International Conference on Nutrition, provides a unique avenue for a sustained global push on nutrition. It is a window to help transform political will into action, to make SMART commitments to reach the goals we have committed to.

It is a tool that we must use to advocate the benefits of adequate nutrition and to promote the adoption and implementation of feasible action plans that will make a real difference in the lives of half of the world´s population affected by some form of malnutrition. This includes about 160 million stunted children under five years of age, almost 800 million chronically undernourished, 2 billion that suffer from different micronutrient deficiencies, and over 500 million obese, so the picture is really complex and challenging.

The Decade of Action on Nutrition also helps align and coordinate the current nutrition commitments, programmes, initiatives and strategies, supporting consistent, focused action on many different fronts.

FAO and WHO have been requested by Members to lead the implementation of the Decade in collaboration with WFP, IFAD and UNICEF, and to develop its work programme.

But let me state clearly that the Decade belongs to everyone. We, therefore, call on the actors that are here today, Global Nutrition Report, Nutrition for Growth, civil society, private sector, Member States, UN System and nutrition Initiatives such as the SUN Movement to actively engage in the Decade.

We want you to tell us what your plans for the Decade are. And we want your inputs for the work programme, which will be developed through an open and inclusive process.

As the FAO Director-General has said, the Global Nutrition Report will be a key pillar for enabling effective collective effort in support of the Decade of Action, through the monitoring of global and country commitments.

Allow me to share with you a few events of the Decade that are planned for this year, and to invite your participation in them.

In September this year, at the UN General Assembly here in New York, FAO and WHO propose to hold a commitment launch. Stakeholders will be encouraged to make public their SMART commitments to indicate clearly what they will do differently and more effectively throughout the Decade to end malnutrition. 

In December, in Rome, FAO and WHO will jointly hold a Technical Nutrition Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition. The meeting will also provide a platform to discuss the work programme for the Decade. 

 

Dear friends,

We have ten years to achieve real nutrition results we want. The clock is ticking. If we can have a tangible impact on nutrition in these ten years, we will have taken a massive step towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.

The Decade of Action on Nutrition is a summons we cannot ignore. Let’s come together to make a pledge towards joint action and offer the world’s poor and malnourished this solemn commitment: “None of you will be left behind.”

Thank you for your attention.