Lawmakers from around the world meeting in Rome, Italy, should to play their part in transforming into positive results the commitments to provide healthier diets for all people, urges Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The governments are expected to make these commitments at this week’s global nutrition conference.
“Improving nutrition requires a collective effort. It requires well-designed laws that improve food systems, ensure healthy diets and strengthen school meals. It also requires adequate public budgets and it calls for strong legal frameworks that consolidate advances and allow us to press ahead,” he said.
The FAO Director-General was speaking at a meeting organized in Rome by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) which represents lawmakers from over 170 countries.
The event ‘Parliaments for better nutrition’ served as a forum for an exchange of views on key nutrition challenges and opportunities ahead of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) in Rome this month.
More than 90 ministers and hundreds of government officials will attend ICN2 which is organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Countries are expected to adopt the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, and a Framework for Action, which set out recommendations for policies and programs to address nutrition across multiple sectors.
