Global Health and Foreign Policy : A Healthier World Through Better Nutrition

Calls upon Member States to reinforce actions towards the improvement of nutrition, health conditions and living standards of populations around the globe as a key element of strategies for the eradication of all forms of malnutrition and poverty in all its forms and dimensions, as well as the promotion of sustainable development;

Also calls upon Member States to address hunger and malnutrition in all its forms as an issue that affects all nations, while acknowledging that wide inequalities exist in nutritional status, exposure to risk and nutritional intake, within and among countries, particularly in developing countries;

Urges Member States to promote food security and food safety, adequate nutrition and sustainable, resilient and diverse nutrition-sensitive food systems as central elements for healthier populations and as a fundamental tool to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and targets,¹⁴ aiming at a world free from malnutrition in all its forms, where all people throughout their life course and at all times have access to adequate food and enjoy diversified, balanced and healthy diets for an active and healthy life;

Also urges Member States to put into practice, as appropriate, a comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, including by developing or, where necessary, strengthening nutrition policies and legislative, regulatory and/or other effective measures to control the marketing of breast-milk substitutes, and establishing effective intersectoral governance mechanisms in order to expand the implementation of nutrition actions;

Encourages Member States to protect and promote adequate nutrition for women, girls and infants, especially during pregnancy and lactation, when the nutritional requirements are increased, with special attention to the first 1,000 days, from the start of pregnancy to the age of 2 years, by promoting and supporting adequate care and feeding practices, including exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months and continued breastfeeding until the age of 2 years and beyond, with appropriate complementary feeding;

Also encourages Member States to develop health- and nutrition-promoting environments, including through nutrition education in schools and other education institutions, as appropriate, and to scale up community-based actions that support children and families, through the promotion of maternal health and recommended infant feeding practices such as breastfeeding;

Calls upon Member States to consider ratifying or implementing, as appropriate, the Convention on the Rights of the Child,¹⁵ which recognizes the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and states that appropriate measures shall be taken to combat disease and malnutrition, giving due attention, inter alia, to its provisions on nutritious foods and breastfeeding;

Encourages the incorporation of nutrition objectives into social protection programmes and the implementation of programmes such as cash transfers, school feeding and targeted food assistance to improve diets through better access to food which conforms to the beliefs, culture, traditions, dietary habits and preferences of individuals, and which is nutritionally adequate;

Calls upon Member States to promote healthy diets and lifestyles, including physical activity, through actions and policies, as appropriate, to implement all nutrition-related commitments, including those made by Heads of State and Government at the high-level meetings of the General Assembly on non-communicable diseases, as well as the World Health Assembly, aiming at minimizing the impact of the main risk factors for non-communicable diseases, and to address malnutrition in all its forms by intensifying their efforts and scaling up their activities under the work programme of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025);

Also calls upon Member States to develop, implement, monitor and review multisectoral policies and programmes, as well as public health awareness campaigns and nutrition education, and human resources development of nutritionists, and to share best practices, aimed at reducing the growing undernourishment and the rapid increase in overweight and obesity, which is fast becoming a global epidemic;

Calls upon Member States to develop actions to promote physical activity in the entire population and for all ages, through the provision of safe public environments and recreational spaces, the promotion of sports, physical education programmes in schools and urban planning which encourages active transport, and also calls upon Member States to implement the World Health Organization global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030: more active people for a healthier world;

Invites Member States to work with the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to convene, on a voluntary basis, new action networks on nutrition and to strengthen the existing ones, and to develop, strengthen and implement policies, programmes and plans to address the multiple challenges of all forms of malnutrition, including consideration of commitments that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound commitments, within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025);

Calls upon Member States, in partnership with other relevant stakeholders, including international and regional organizations and academia, to consider scaling up research and knowledge dissemination on the correlations between health, notably its economic and social determinants, and nutrition and food systems to generate evidence and guidance on effective nutrition programmes and policies;

Also calls upon Member States to promote and preserve traditional healthy diets, food diversity and healthy eating habits and lifestyles, considering the importance of food as part of the cultural heritage and a vehicle to promote nutrition literacy;

Calls upon Member States to promote, enhance and support sustainable agriculture, including crops, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, that improves food security, eradicates hunger, helps to prevent malnutrition and is economically viable and environmentally sustainable, enhancing resilience to climate change and natural disasters, and recognizes the need to support sustainable and efficient food production systems and ensure food security;

Calls upon Member States to support and engage with initiatives that promote multisectoral approaches and multi-stakeholder partnerships, by bringing together civil society and the private sector to mobilize all their available resources, as appropriate, while giving due regard to managing conflicts of interest, through due diligence to accelerate progress and reduce all forms of malnutrition;

Encourages greater coherence and coordination among United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and entities on matters related to global health and foreign policy;

Urges Member States to enhance international cooperation and official development assistance for health, notably nutrition, to support and complement national and regional strategies, policies and programmes, and surveillance initiatives;

Encourages the Secretary-General to promote discussion among Member States and relevant stakeholders on appropriate policy options to promote access to medicines, innovation and health technologies;

Requests the Secretary-General, in close collaboration with the Director General of the World Health Organization as well as other relevant international organizations, to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, under the item entitled “Global health and foreign policy”, on improving international coordination and cooperation to address health needs and the challenges for the achievement of a healthier world through better nutrition.