Fostering momentum and political commitment for nutrition: Accelerating action towards 2030 and beyond

THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER, 15.00-18.00, virtual

This CFS 53 plenary session will be used to reflect on whether the Nutrition Decade has contributed to advancing the global nutrition agenda and to elevating nutrition as a priority at high-level global events from 2016 to 2025, whether in the current context, the Nutrition Decade has a distinct role to play in supporting efforts to maintain political momentum for nutrition action; and which potential synergies and areas of collaboration can be strengthened in order to promote the use of the VGFSyN at country level.

Financing a sustainable future: Making responsible investments for healthy diets, climate action, and equity in food systems

TUESDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2025, 08.30-09.45, Iran Room and virtual

The session will explore innovative strategies, financing mechanisms, and responsible business practices across food value chains to drive a just, sustainable, and nutrition-sensitive transformation of food systems. It will bring together governments, finance institutions, private sector, civil society, and philanthropy to discuss how financial flows can support healthy diets, better nutrition, environmental protection, and decent livelihoods, highlighting inclusive models that empower small-scale and family farmers through examples such as Brazil’s targeted credit lines and carbon market engagement. The event is organized by Government of Denmark, HDSFS Coalition, I-CAN and other partners.

Investing in the future: Building partnerships and strengthening financing for healthier School Meals Programmes

WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2025, 08.30-09.45, Philippines Room and virtual

The School Meals Coalition, with over 100 members, fosters global collaboration to ensure every child receives a healthy school meal by 2030. Its Sustainable Financing Initiative builds evidence and provides technical assistance to boost domestic investment. By sharing best practices with regards to financing and collaboration as well as discussing enabling environments with a child-centered approach, the event will highlight how school meals can become a driver of agrifood resilience, and access to affordable healthy diets.    

Local Food Solutions for Healthy Diets: Strengthening Urban and Peri-Urban Agri-food systems

WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2025, 13.30-14.45, Iran Room and virtual

The event aims to showcase locally driven, food-based solutions and innovative initiatives in urban and peri-urban settings that improve access to healthy diets through sustainable food systems, particularly in fragile contexts. It will highlight resilient food policies and good practices that strengthen territorial approaches, promote local leadership, and engage multiple stakeholders. Urban agriculture will also be presented as a tool for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The event is organized by the HDSFS Coalition, I-CAN, Government of Brazil and other partners. 

Breaking silos, aligning for impact: How countries use dietary guidelines to coordinate agrifood systems’ actions

THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2025, 08.30–09.45, Ethiopia Room and virtual

This event will feature FAO’s Food Systems-Based Dietary Guidelines (FSBDGs) methodology. Grounded in solid evidence and collaboration across sectors, FSBDGs offer a new opportunity to bring local healthy diets into agrifoods systems planning and action, while continuing to guide consumer nutrition education. By considering the interconnections among nutrition, health, sociocultural and environmental sustainability, FSBDGs can be used to recommend coordinated action across the entire food system – from production to consumption – helping countries align policies and work together toward healthy diets from more sustainable food systems. 

From Pledges to Progress: Accountability for Nutrition in a Shifting World

THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2025, 13.30–14.45, Ethiopia Room and virtual

This side event supports the building of resilient food systems that benefit nutrition by strengthening responsible investment in food security and nutrition. Emphasising a multistakeholder approach—including civil society, governments, and private sector-aligned actors—the event will invite a conversation on how we can transparently hold ourselves and one another to account. It will showcase progress on global nutrition commitments and strategies for transparent, democratic, and accountable governance.

Harnessing Data for Policy Making: Advancing Food Security and Decent Jobs in Agrifood Systems

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2025, 13.30-14.45, Austria Room and virtual

Building on the momentum from CFS52’s focus on “Promoting decent work in agriculture and food systems,” and aligned with the 2025 CFS Plenary theme on “Strengthening responsible investment and financing for food security and nutrition,” the event showcases how innovative methodologies, robust evidence, and integrated policy dialogues help identify agricultural and employment policy gaps and synergies for targeted interventions to foster decent work in inclusive food systems. By amplifying the voices of policymakers, partners, researchers, and sector experts, and addressing the demographic challenge and the need to boost decent jobs creation in agri-food systems in Africa, the event will offer practical insights and data from real-world experiences. Finally, it aims at guiding governments and stakeholders in advancing better employment opportunities and inclusive sustainable food systems across Africa and beyond.

Harnessing climate and biodiversity investments to realize the right to food for healthy diets and a sustainable planet

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2025, 13.30-14.45, Iran Room and virtual

This side event will showcase how investments that address climate and biodiversity challenges can simultaneously strengthen food systems, uphold the right to food, and deliver healthy diets—particularly in regions facing the greatest burdens of malnutrition and environmental degradation. Through country experiences and global perspectives, the session will feature concrete examples of how integrated investments, policies and partnerships are driving food system transformation. It will highlight tools like true cost accounting to realign incentives alongside locally grounded and integrated solutions that address key imperatives such as the right to food and access to healthy diets while also supporting national climate and biodiversity priorities.

Meaningful Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: Why Addressing Power Asymmetries is Essential for Food System Transformation and Improved Nutrition

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2025, 13.30-14.45, Ethiopia Room and virtual

This session will provide an open and critical space to explore how power dynamics and political economy shape food systems, influencing the design and implementation of equitable, sustainable, and nutrition-sensitive policies. Building on the Food & Power Initiative, convened by UNDP, the discussion will feature concrete examples of how governments and other stakeholders navigate power asymmetries to drive transformation and strengthen food security and resilience.