The Second International Conference on Nutrition, as Seen by a Member State.

For years now, providing people with food and balanced diets has been a problem unsolved by the world community. Despite numerous initiatives, the great breakthrough has still not happened, not least because the issue is so complex. Hunger and undernourishment must be fought as much as hidden hunger, overweight and obesity. Increasingly, several forms of malnutrition have been occurring simultaneously. The so-called double burden of malnutrition has become the new normal. The follow-up process of the Second International Conference on Nutrition assumes a vital role in that context. The Rome Declaration and the Framework for Action commit the international community, international organizations and civil society to undertake joint efforts across and beyond sectorial policies. Both documents also indicate numerous starting points for actions that consider individual national examples. Germany has been actively engaged at both the national and the international levels. Since its inception in 2008, the National Action Plan 'IN FORM' has taken up a number of suggestions made by the Second International Conference on Nutrition. While IN FORM is further developed, the ideas given in the Framework for Action shall provide a fresh impetus. Within its development cooperation, Germany is increasingly focusing on improving the nutritional situation, such as through its One World, No Hunger initiative. In the follow-up process, all stakeholders, including the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, will have to offer platforms to promote exchange among all parties involved and to initiate coherent actions that also reach beyond national borders. Only then can the improvement of the nutritional situation really be seen as a truly global challenge. Given the issue's complexity, it is equally important to establish priorities in each case in order for progress not to be thwarted by lengthy decision-making processes. Improving the situation of particularly vulnerable groups, such as young women and small children, shall be as prominent as the support and promotion of diversified agriculture. Building networks among partners is of equal importance for joint action and exchange between stakeholders at the national and international levels to generate added value on the way toward solving the nutrition problem. Science will also have to be more closely involved for that matter and purpose. Research is required to supply scientific evidence for certain measures to be taken, and it assumes a prominent role where political consultation, knowledge management and the implementation of measures are concerned.

Eiden HC ，Welte S 《-》

The Second International Conference on Nutrition: Implications for Hidden Hunger.

The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and was held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 19 to 21 November 2014. The ICN2 was a high-level intergovernmental meeting that focused global attention on addressing malnutrition in all its forms: undernutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, and obesity. The ICN2 was held to specifically address the persistent and unacceptably high levels of malnutrition. Despite much progress in reducing hunger globally, 795 million people remain undernourished, over 2 billion people suffer from various micronutrient deficiencies, and an estimated 161 million children under 5 years of age are stunted, 99 million underweight, and 51 million wasted. Meanwhile, more than 600 million adults are obese. Global problems require global solutions. The ICN2 brought together national policy-makers from food, agriculture, health, education, social protection and other relevant sectors to address the complex problem of malnutrition through a multi-sectoral approach. Two outcome documents - the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action - were endorsed by participating governments at the Conference, committing world leaders to establishing national policies aimed at eradicating malnutrition in all its forms and transforming food systems to make nutritious diets available to all. The Rome Declaration on Nutrition is a political statement of 10 commitments for more effective and coordinated action to improve nutrition, while the Framework for Action is a voluntary technical guide of 60 recommendations for the implementation of the political commitments. This chapter provides information on the ICN2 and its outcomes as well as follow-up activities. Emphasis is placed on the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action, with special focus on hidden hunger problems that have to be addressed through different interventions and a multi-sectoral approach.

Amoroso L 《-》

Food security in a world without borders.

de Haen H ，Thompson B 《-》

How to Achieve Transparency in Public-Private Partnerships Engaged in Hunger and Malnutrition Reduction.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships are important facilitators of improving nutrition in developing countries to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Often, the role of industry is challenged and questions are raised as to the ethics of involving for-profit companies in humanitarian projects. The Second International Conference on Nutrition placed great emphasis on the role of the private sector, including industry, in multi-stakeholder partnerships to reduce hunger and malnutrition. Governments have to establish regulatory frameworks and institutions to guarantee fair competition and invest in infrastructure that makes investments for private companies attractive, eventually leading to economic growth. Civil society organizations can contribute by delivering nutrition interventions and behavioral change-related communication to consumers, providing capacity, and holding governments and private sector organizations accountable. Industry provides technical support, innovation, and access to markets and the supply chain. The greatest progress and impact can be achieved if all stakeholders cooperate in multi-stakeholder partnerships aimed at improving nutrition, thereby strengthening local economies and reducing poverty and inequality. Successful examples of public-private partnerships exist, as well as examples in which these partnerships did not achieve mutually agreed objectives. The key requirements for productive alliances between industry and civil society organizations are the establishment of rules of engagement, transparency and mutual accountability. The Global Social Observatory performed a consultation on conflicts of interest related to the Scaling Up Nutrition movement and provided recommendations to prevent, identify, manage and monitor potential conflicts of interest. Multi-stakeholder partnerships can be successful models in improving nutrition if they meet societal demand with transparent decision-making and execution. Solutions to the issue of malnutrition are available. We have the resources and knowledge, and we must act as a global community in the immediate future. Transparency about the roles and contributions of each partner may be a key factor for successful cooperation in multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Eggersdorfer M ，Bird JK 《-》

Post-2015 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: Where Are We Now? Global Opportunities to Address Malnutrition in all Its Forms, Including Hidden Hunger.

Combatting malnutrition in all its forms - undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, and obesity - is one of the greatest challenges that countries are facing. Much has happened in less than 10 years to redefine the international nutrition landscape and place nutrition at the heart of global development efforts. The food crises of 2008 and the Lancet first series on maternal and child undernutrition helped galvanize world attention. The enormous health and economic consequences of malnutrition were recognized, and far more attention began to be paid to the multiple burdens of malnutrition. In 2014, the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) endorsed 2 outcome documents, committing world leaders to establishing national policies aimed at eliminating malnutrition in all its forms, including hidden hunger, and transforming food systems to make nutritious diets available to all. In 2015, 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global objectives to guide the actions of the international community over the next 15 years (2016-2030). Member States placed high priority on addressing malnutrition in all its forms by committing, under SDG 2, to "end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture." However, nutrition has also a role to play in achieving other goals of the 2030 Agenda, including goals related to poverty, health, education, social protection, gender, water, work, growth, inequality, and climate change. In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the ICN2 outcome documents and proclaimed the years 2016-2025 as the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. The Nutrition Decade reaffirmed the commitments under the ICN2 and the 2030 Agenda to end malnutrition in all its forms. Together, the ICN2, the 2030 Agenda, and the Nutrition Decade have placed nutrition firmly at the heart of the development agenda with the recognition that transformed food systems have a fundamental role to play in promoting healthy diets and improving nutrition. This paper reviews the major international nutrition system changes called for, and provides an analysis of recent governance initiatives to address malnutrition in all its forms, including hidden hunger problems.

Amoroso L 《-》