No images? Click here Tuesday, 7 December 2021 PRESS RELEASE WHO accelerates work on nutrition targets with new commitments Geneva, Switzerland –COVID-19 and climate change have exacerbated malnutrition in all its forms and threatened the sustainability and resilience of food systems around the world. At the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Tokyo on 7 – 8 December 2021, the World Health Organization has announced six new commitments to accelerate progress on the 2025 nutrition targets which have been pushed even further off course during the pandemic. These include:
Today, one third of all people around the world are affected by at least one form of malnutrition. Over 40% of all men and women (2.2 billion people) are now overweight or obese. While unhealthy diets are linked to at least 8 million deaths per year. “Malnutrition in all its forms is one of the world’s leading causes of death and illness,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO is committed to supporting all countries to progressively expand access to essential nutrition services as part of their journey towards universal health coverage, and to strengthening sustainable food systems to support healthy diets for all people, everywhere." Despite incremental improvements across all forms of malnutrition over the past decade, this progress has digressed with growing rates of inequity, climate crisis, conflict, and global health insecurities. “Today, less than 1% of global development assistance focuses on nutrition,” said Dr Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food safety. “There needs to be accelerated action to end unhealthy diets and malnutrition, and WHO’s new commitments to the Nutrition for Growth Summit reflects this. The Nutrition for Growth Summit is a tremendous opportunity to accelerate action during the 2016-2025 Decade of Action on Nutrition.” Media contact: You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list. |