Joint Press Release of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-UNICEF-World Food Programme-World Health Organization

Bangkok/Rome, January 20, 2021 — Four United Nations specialized agencies jointly issued a report today, stating that the economic shock caused by the new crown epidemic may endanger efforts to improve diet and nutrition in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region is the most densely populated region in the world. Before the outbreak, nearly 2 billion people in the region could not afford healthy meals.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization jointly released a report entitled "An Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in the Asia-Pacific Region in 2020: Focus on Maternal, Infant and Children’s Diets, and Improve Nutrition."

The report pointed out that before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, 1.9 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region could not afford a healthy diet. The epidemic has caused tremendous damage to the livelihoods of economies and people in the region.

The affordability of healthy diets is essential to ensure food security and nutrition for everyone, especially for mothers, infants and children. Due to the rising prices of fruits, vegetables and dairy products, the poor in the Asia-Pacific region are almost unable to guarantee a healthy diet.

Food prices and disposable income influence family decisions about food and dietary intake. The outbreak of the new crown epidemic, lack of decent job opportunities, and serious uncertainties in the food system and market have led to further inequality in the Asia-Pacific region. Poor families have to change their dietary choices due to reduced incomes, and instead consume low-priced and nutritious foods .

Make nutritious foods cheaper and more accessible

In 2019, more than 350 million people in the Asia-Pacific region were undernourished, accounting for almost half of the world. In the region, it is estimated that approximately 74.5 million children under 5 are stunted and 31.5 million are wasting. The situation in South Asia is the most severe. Nearly 56 million children are stunted and more than 25 million are wasting. At the same time, the number of overweight and obese people is increasing rapidly, especially in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It is estimated that approximately 14.5 million children under the age of 5 are facing overweight or obesity problems.

Unhealthy diet and insufficient nutritional intake have long existed. The cost of a healthy diet is much higher than that of foods with sufficient calories but low nutritional value, highlighting the serious shortcomings of the food system and failing to provide affordable nutrition options for everyone. Women and children have higher requirements for nutrition and therefore also face higher costs.

The report calls for promoting the transformation of the food system in the Asia-Pacific region, increasing supply and promoting families' access to nutritious, safe and sustainable diets. Nutrition and healthy diets need to be made available to all people. In order to achieve this goal, the report recommends the adoption of comprehensive guidelines and policies to play a key role in solving cost issues and ensuring healthy meals for mothers, infants and children.

Strengthen key systems to improve the diets of mothers, infants and children

Nutrition is an important topic throughout human life. Failure to obtain a high-quality diet for the first 1,000 days of life (from pregnancy to 2 years old) will have extremely negative effects. Young children need to ensure a good nutritional level during their growth, and every bite of food should not be sloppy, especially when the baby is just 6 months old and begins to be exposed to foods other than breast milk.

Vigorously promote the importance of nutrition in various systems, promote behavior change, help spread relevant knowledge, form a lasting behavior pattern, and help people embrace healthy diets.

So it is necessary to educate the public, popularize healthy diet knowledge, create a good sanitation environment in homes, schools, and communities; at the same time, invest in girls’ education, build infrastructure, provide clean water and sanitation facilities, and promote the formation of sanitary habits.

To achieve nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable diets for all, partners in various systems such as food, water and sanitation, health, social security, and education need to work together to create an enabling environment.

It is also necessary to implement national policies and plans, provide better health services, promote the improvement of maternal, infant and children’s diet, and enhance nutritional outcomes. Diet should be included as a priority to include basic health services for mothers and young children to deal with chronic diseases such as undernutrition, overweight, and obesity, and achieve universal health coverage.

At the same time, social security can protect disadvantaged groups, stabilize income levels, and promote healthy meals during disasters and crises. In the Asia-Pacific region, the governments of at least nine countries have formulated a new crown epidemic subsidy program specifically for mothers and children in their social security systems. Nevertheless, we still need to collect and analyze more data to clarify the role of social security in improving the diets of mothers, infants and children in the region.

Hand in hand to mobilize the forces of all parties

The food system is crucial in the process of achieving universal food and nutrition security. only by creating a sustainable and nutritious food system we can produce diversified and nutritious food and ensure a healthy diet. Improving the efficiency and production level of the value chain can effectively reduce the cost of necessary food and increase affordability.

Currently, the situation of malnutrition in the Asia-Pacific region is quietly changing. Deep-processed foods are sweeping the Asia-Pacific market with low prices, and nutrition action is imminent. Deep-processed foods contain a lot of sugar and unhealthy fats, and lack the vitamins and minerals needed for growth and development, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Governments of all countries need to invest in fresh food and street markets, improve nutrition and food safety, and popularize healthy diets. Regulation of food marketing and sales, especially food for children, can effectively curb overweight, obesity and related diseases.

The report also called for mobilizing the enthusiasm of the private sector. Whether it is the transformation of the food system or the creation of a value chain for healthy diets, the private sector plays an important role.

Coordinating the major systems can get twice the result with half the effort, overcome the barriers to healthy diet one by one, and ultimately help countries and people in the Asia-Pacific region to recover quickly from the economic shock of the new crown epidemic, and at the same time be fully prepared for future crises.

Read the full report: http://www.fao.org/3/cb2895en/CB2895EN.pdf


Related links:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Coronavirus Disease 2019:
http://www.fao.org/2019-ncov/en/

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's COVID-19 Comprehensive Response and Comprehensive Recovery Plan: http://www.fao.org/partnerships/resource-partners/covid-19/en

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the food system:
http://www.fao.org/food-systems/en/

FAO and Nutrition:
http://www.fao.org/nutrition/en/ 

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