Recently, society has shown more and more interest in nutritional problems. FAO’s work to promote the importance of nutrition, healthy diets and agri-food systems is paying off.
According to FAO’s The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report, concerted action is needed because some three billion people around the world do not have access to healthy diets. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation.
Qu Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, noted that the main areas for improvement outlined in the FAO Strategic Program 2022-2031 are:
• Improving the quality of nutrition.
• Improved production.
• Improvement of the state of the environment.
• Improving the quality of life.
The Director-General listed FAO’s commitment to improving nutrition and ensuring healthy diets for all:
• new action plans (at least 90% of all plans) related to agriculture and food systems should focus primarily on expanding access to healthy diets;
• The proportion of projects that take nutrition into account should be increased to 50% by 2025;
• Member States should be provided (upon request) assistance in the implementation of the Voluntary Code of Practice for the Reduction of Food Loss and Waste;
• FAO Country Offices (at least 90% by 2025) should actively support Member States to ensure healthy diets for everyone.