CGIAR Dec. 2021

At the United Nations Food System Summit this past September, nutrition was identified as a key action area deserving renewed focus as the world continues its pursuit of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. While Zero Hunger is still a primary objective, focusing on this end alone is not enough. Now, as the world prepares for the Nutrition for Growth Summit (N4G), convened by the Government of Japan from 7 to 8 December, this critical challenge for billions is the focus of intense discussion and commitment for action. 

“Globally, we have built food systems that are complex and interdependent, but not delivering sustainable nutritious diets for about three billion people,” said Juan Lucas Restrepo, the Global Director for Partnerships and Advocacy for CGIAR. “We have recognized that we need to do more than produce large quantities of food… the food must also be affordable, nutritious and safe.” 

Restrepo’s remarks provided introduction to a virtual side event hosted by CGIAR as part of N4G — a global effort to bring together country governments, donors, businesses and NGOs to confront the persistent challenge of malnutrition in all its forms, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.  

While the health effects of malnutrition, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity, are well-known, its complex relationship to incomes, employment, climate change and environmental degradation remain thornier subjects, requiring careful investigation and collaborative approaches to find viable science and policy solutions.  

Following a warm welcome from Aoyama Toyohisa, the Director-General for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat of Japan, the assembled panel — representing a broad range of stakeholders, including research institutions, local organizations, government agencies and several INGOs — discussed the issue of nutrition along topics of sustainable and accessible diets; sustainable and affordable diets; and resilient and inclusive food systems. It explored these issues in the context of how malnutrition in all its forms impacts people in rural and urban areas, as well as those in fragile contexts, in different ways. 

See https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/voices-collaboration-and-complexity-improving-nutrition-in-the-21st-century/