A 2020 Evaluation of Global Knowledge Networks in the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025): Proceedings of the 6th International Summit on Medical and Public Health Nutrition Education and Research

Abstract

The six key action areas, outlined in the Work Programme of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, provide a blueprint for sustained nutrition action and are positioned within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Target 2.2, ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030.5 Five years on from when the Nutrition Decade was proclaimed, hunger and malnutrition remain problems of huge scale with diet-related health costs linked to mortality and non-communicable diseases projected to exceed USD 1.3 trillion per year.2 Although the change to date has been modest, the remaining years of the Nutrition Decade present an unprecedented opportunity for accelerated efforts. The NNEdPro Global Centre is an award-winning interdisciplinary think-tank, training academy and knowledge network anchored in Cambridge, UK.6 The work of NNEdPro focuses on developing adaptable and scalable models for nutrition education and combining clinical and public health knowledge with leadership training to aid and evaluate implementation in education, health care and community settings globally. [...]the unaffordability of eating well is exacerbated by the pandemic and highlights the need to revitalize nutrition commitments and strengthen accountability for such action.2 There is also a need to consider the impact of trade and investment policies on food systems and maximise action to improve food security and nutrition, and invest responsibly into agriculture and food systems.22 In Action Area 5, Safe and supportive environments for nutrition at all ages, there remains scope to scale-up and further strengthen country level action by improving food offered in public institutions (e.g., school, prison, and hospital settings), considering regulatory approaches to shape food price and availability, and subsequently food choice, and supporting the use of the Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition of the Committee of World Food Security,23 as discussed at the Summit. The food system accounts for more than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and conversely, the present environmental crisis also places additional strain on the food and healthcare systems.18 Diet-related greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to exceed USD 1.7 trillion per year by 2030 based on current food consumption patterns.18 The resources required to sustain current food systems are vast;food production consumes over 50% of the planets habitable land surface and 70% of freshwater.19 Health care systems constitute a large sector which requires considerable amounts of energy and resources and produces substantial emissions and waste.20 For example, in 2012 alone, the European health system produced 24.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the entire country of Croatia that same year.21 In the context of the Nutrition Decade, we need increased recognition of the role of agriculture and food systems to promote crop diversification, to create healthy food environments, and to implement measures to ensure food safety standards.