Multisectoral Policy Recommendations for Addressing Malnutrition from an Agrifood System Perspective

The subprogramme aims to accelerate the progress on multisectoral collaboration on nutrition and agrifood systems transformation in the Central Asia subregion by supporting the countries in the development of Food System Based Dietary Guidelines (FSBDGs) which are an innovative tool to combine the advantages of food system analysis, nutrition education and nutrition mainstreaming into cross-sectoral policies. The development of FSBDGs is recognized as a priority in the region, confirmed by the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC-323 ), governments, academia, civil societies and regional partnership initiatives that address the burden of all forms of malnutrition. Such guidelines are critical not only for enhancing food and nutrition education and enabling informed consumer choices, but also for engaging stakeholders across all sectors of food systems, particularly agriculture and health in holistic policy development and to inform tangible actions to improve the food environment.

The initiative will also help to improve dietary diversity and reducing the hidden costs of unhealthy diets on health, the environment and society in line with the guiding principles of sustainable healthy diets45 . National FSBDGs, evidence-based policy recommendations and training modules will promote a better recognition of the importance of linking biodiversity and diets. They will also guide consumers’ sustainable food choices, which are good for health and good for the planet.

The work on FSBDGs will be complemented by the development of region-specific training modules on agrifood systems and nutrition which aim to help professionals in government, civil societies and academia understand a food systems approach to nutrition. The development of such a module is crucial, as currently the policy goal of food systems is primarily viewed as ‘food independence’ or ‘self-sufficiency’, and nutrition is not adequately integrated in national policies and food system pathways. Other interdisciplinary aspects, such as food safety and quality may also be included. The trainings will also address the limited availability of nutrition and food safety professionals in the target countries.