WS 01 - Food Systems, Nutrition and Health

Malnutrition in its various forms is a problem faced by all countries. Major challenges for delivering food and nutrition security are compounded by pressures of a growing population, urbanization, climate change, inequality and market instability. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a key framework for addressing the challenges of malnutrition and they mandate fresh engagement by science to resolve complexities of evidence-based policies and programmes.

The InterAcademy Partnership project initiated four regional working groups in Africa (NASAC), Asia (AASSA), the Americas (IANAS) and Europe (EASAC) to explore scientific opportunities for sustainable production and healthy diets. The integrative food systems approach included all the steps involved from growing through to processing, transporting, trading, purchasing and consuming food, examining issues for resource efficiency, environmental sustainability, resilience and the public health agenda, while also taking account of local-global interconnectedness of systems.

The published four regional reports are being discussed with national and regional policy makers and are also serving as a collective resource to prepare a fifth, global report. In this session we will discuss some of the emerging regional and global conclusions for food and nutrition security with particular regard to the linkages to health and wellbeing. We emphasise that it is vital to be more ambitious in identifying scientific opportunities and in mobilizing the resource from research and innovation in engagement between the scientific community, policy makers and other stakeholders.