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The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many changes in the daily lives of people around the world, but there are things that can be done to maintain a healthy lifestyle in these difficult times. Everyone is encouraged to follow World Health Organization (WHO) guidance and governmental advice to protect against COVID-19 infection and transmission. Social distancing and good hygiene are the best protection for yourself and others against COVID-19. Good nutrition is very important before during and after an infection. While no foods or dietary supplements can prevent COVID-19 infection, maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of supporting a strong [...]

This joint note from FAO and WFP intends to provide government decision makers, school administrators/staff and partners with preliminary guidance on how to support, transform or adapt school feeding (in the short term) to help safeguard schoolchildren’s food security and nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific recommendations are provided according to the various target groups involved in school feeding. An additional section is focused on the case of homegrown school feeding. This guidance note will be regularly updated as the situation evolves, and new information becomes available. It complements other guidance from specialized UN agencies, such as the, UNESCO, UNICEF, [...]

In the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, FAO reported that the prevalence of undernourishment was rising in the region. The latest data shows that the deterioration has slowed, but there remain 256 million hungry people in Africa today. The report further documents that although many African countries are making progress towards reducing malnutrition, progress is too slow to meet six key nutrition targets, which form part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitoring framework and the World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. Food insecurity has been rising in Africa in recent [...]

FAO is uniquely positioned to contribute to global efforts to reduce the prevalence of overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through the support it provides to countries in reforming their food systems and its work with line ministries responsible for agriculture, trade, environment and rural development, as well as with other UN agencies and development partners. This brief, prepared by FAO as part of a set of United Nations system agency briefs under the UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs, presents FAO key areas of engagement and partnerships to address the challenge of NCDs.

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current state of financial inclusion of the rural youth in Uganda, with a specific focus on their engagement in the agricultural sector and the financial services that are available to them to pursue their business ventures in this area. The study seeks to illustrate and bring to light the core constraints and opportunities associated with the provision of tailored financial services to young agricultural entrepreneurs in the country, while showcasing the essential role that key support actors (such as the Government, Central Bank, international development institutions, NGOs, foundations [...]

El Marco de la FAO para la Alimentación y Nutrición Escolar tiene como objetivo apoyar a los gobiernos y las instituciones para que desarrollen, transformen o fortalezcan sus políticas, programas y otras iniciativas a fin de lograr un mejor impacto en la alimentación, la nutrición escolar y adolescente, el desarrollo socioeconómico comunitario y los sistemas alimentarios locales. El Marco representa una respuesta directa al llamado internacional para mejorar la nutrición a lo largo del ciclo de vida y para transformar los sistemas alimentarios, en el contexto de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), la Segunda Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición (CIN2) y el [...]

The FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) is an inclusive, neutral platform for people and institutions to share knowledge and support policy-making. Over the years, the FSN Forum online discussions have played an important role in strengthening and democratizing policy dialogue in line with the UN’s move towards more inclusive decision-making processes within the development community. The FSN Forum engages a broad spectrum of citizens, experts, governments, non-governmental and private entities at the global, regional and national levels, fostering awareness, debate and mutual learning on the broad range of issues that affect food securityand nutrition. This publication presents the [...]

This technical guidance brief summarizes some of the current thinking on how livestock can address the nutritional needs of vulnerable households and groups. It outlines recommendations for designing and implementing livestock interventions to leverage nutrition outcomes. It is intended for use by programme planners and managers working for government, humanitarian and development agencies involved in designing and implementing livestock-related policies and programmes, with the objective of helping in integration of nutrition outcomes in their work. Additionally, it is aimed at those involved in developing nutritional polices and strategies, to take into consideration the potential of livestock based strategies to improve nutrition. [...]

The right to feed oneself in dignity and to be free from hunger is guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which today has been signed and ratified by 170 State Parties. As such, the right to food is a legal obligation anchored in international law. In order to fulfill this obligation, many countries and international organizations have led concrete actions to infuence policies and laws for the realization of the right to food.FAO, as the United Nations Specialized Agency mandated with the achievement of food security and nutrition, has supported Member Countries committed towards this [...]

Unhealthy diets now pose a greater risk to morbidity and mortality than unsafe sex, alcohol, and drug and tobacco use combined. They are at the root of the global obesity and diet-related non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic. The ways of food production that lead to these unhealthy diets also pose a major threat to climate stability and ecosystem resilience, and constitute the most important driver of environmental degradation and natural resources depletion.In the short term, there is little that we can do to curb the global demand for food and other products that depend on biological resources. Demand will continue to [...]