By Akanimo Sampson
The United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN) says coherent policy, good governance and accountability are essential to achieving sustainable nutrition outcomes and that these can only be achieved if nutrition is fully integrated into a range of intergovernmental processes and policies.
According to its mandate, UNSCN is accountable through regular update on progress and results to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Last June 6, UNSCN presented its annual report for 2018 to the ECOSOC 2019 Management Segment in New York. UNSCN reports to ECOSOC every year, along with other United Nations committees, such as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Non-Communicable Diseases.
The reporting by CFS and UNSCN during the same meeting presents a unique opportunity for both committees not just to strengthen the linkages between Rome and New York but also to emphasize and refer to each other’s work and show the complementarities.
Right to adequate food, the voluntary guidelines for food systems and nutrition and the importance of healthy and sustainable diets were topics that were reported on.
During her presentation, the UNSCN Coordinator Stineke Oenema also underlined the importance of systemic change and food-system transformation to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to eradicate hunger, as well as all of the other SDGs.
“An entry point for change is the promotion of healthy and sustainable diets, as it is a good example of a multiple-duty action,” Ms. Oenema said. “It has the potential to improve health, and it will also contribute to the mitigation of climate change and the reduction of biodiversity loss. Overall, one can say that a healthier diet is the more sustainable choice.”
