Fao Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific

Given the multi-sectoral nature of nutrition, there are a range of policies on food, agriculture, trade, prices and incomes, health, and food safety that have an impact on nutrition. Greater progress can be expected if food safety and nutrition objectives, concerns and considerations are explicitly integrated into national policies on agriculture and food systems. The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), co-hosted by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) was held in November 2014. A high-level political event, ICN2 was the first global intergovernmental forum devoted to addressing the world’s nutrition problems in the 21st century. The adoption of the ICN2 Rome Declaration and the Framework for Action lay down commitments to actions for addressing malnutrition including at policy level. This paper discusses the development trends and emerging challenges related to nutrition and food safety, and the need to invest and pursue an integrated approach through national cross-government, inter-sector and multistakeholder mechanisms that systematically mainstream food safety and nutrition into agricultural and food system policies. It also discusses potential policy and strategic responses for adjusting and aligning national sectoral and cross-sectoral policies and investments for achieving sustainable nutrition improvements.