Rome/New York – Queen Letizia of Spain will join international efforts against hunger and malnutrition by addressing the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) scheduled to take place from 19- 21 November at FAO's headquarters in Rome.

The Queen’s participation at the conference, which is being organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO), was confirmed yesterday during her meeting with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Summit 2014, in New York.

“I really appreciate Spain’s contribution to the fight against hunger and malnutrition, especially in Central America,” FAO’s Director-General said.

"The Queen’s participation at the conference is yet more proof of Spain’s commitment to global efforts for better nutrition and healthier diets that result in better lives for people everywhere,” he added.

Rising obesity rates 

Talks between Graziano da Silva and Queen Letizia focused on the importance of improving diets and raising nutrition levels. Both expressed their concern about rapidly rising obesity rates, in children and in adults.

According to FAO, two billion people suffer from one or more micronutrient deficiencies, while 1.4 billion are overweight, of which 500 million are obese. FAO’s Director-General noted how tackling obesity will feature prominently during discussions at the conference.

Graziano da Silva shared with Queen Letizia the latest UN report on world hunger, released last week, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014.

The report found that while the number of people who experience chronic hunger was reduced by 100 million over the past decade, today 805 million people still go regularly without enough to eat.

About the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2)

ICN2 will be a follow-up to the first such conference, which was held in 1992. It aims to bring together government leaders, other top-level policymakers and representatives of intergovernmental organizations and civil society, to take stock of progress made in improving nutrition and to seek new ways to boost national and global efforts that improve diets and health.