Urgent Call from the Micronutrient Forum: Scaling Up Access to Nutritious Diets for the Most Vulnerable Populations
The world is facing unprecedented global food and nutrition crises because of soaring food prices, regional conflicts and more frequent and intense climate related disasters. Also economic and societal effects of COVID-19 can still be felt. The near- and long-term adverse impacts of these compounding challenges threaten the health and future of vulnerable communities and are taking a particularly heavy toll on mothers and young children.
Global Conference
The Micronutrient Forum’s Sixth Global Conference, Nutrition for Resilience, is a watershed moment for the global nutrition community. It will bring together an estimated 3,000 experts, leaders, and advocates from diverse fields to have the vital discussions needed to align priorities and action plans, as well as prioritize investments in nutrition. The conference takes place from 16-20 October in The Hague this year.
Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director of the Micronutrient Forum: “This conference will be the catalyst we need for robust scientific discussions and policy dialogues. We have no more time. We have to foster a renewed sense of urgency to facilitate alignment between nutrition and resilience agendas across sectors and make tangible progress towards global development goals.”
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) says: “We are convening at a critical time in history when people across the world are increasingly experiencing economic, conflict and environmental shocks. We urgently needto createfood systems that are more diversein what foods are grown, where they are grown, how they are grown and, in the foods consumed. Diversity is the antidote to risk and is key to ensuring the nutrition status of vulnerable families is more resilient to the increased frequency and intensity of shocks we are witnessing today and which we will continue to see in the next 10 years.”
Fresh insights from scientists, policy makers, and practitioners are very much needed to increase resilience through healthier diets. The Micronutrient Forum helps to shape and sharpen these insights, so all involved can accelerateaction.
Preventing Future Malnutrition Crises
The five-day extensive programme at the MNF will cover cutting-edge nutrition research, from basic micronutrient biology to programme implementation and evidence-based solutions for climate-smart agriculture. The Conference attendees will learn about integrated responses to humanitarian emergencies and effective strategies for preventing future malnutrition crises. To discover ways to bolster programme resilience and scalability through social protection systems, and explore how to build resilient data systems for informed decision-making. Collaboration and new financing opportunities for nutrition and resilience-building programmes will also be key topics of focus.
Afshan Khan, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN): “This is an invaluable opportunity for the SUN Movement and the governments implementing national nutrition plans to engage with academia, practitioners, civil society and business at the global level and share initiatives for improved nutrition outcomes. The Micronutrient Forum can propel further action and lead to financing for nutrition that supports both people and planet.”