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UN Nutrition Virtual Event 26 April 2023: Pursuing wins-wins for nutrition and the environment through a food systems approach

Side event – 4th Global Conference of One Planet network’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme

– INVITATION –

Date: Wednesday, 26 April 2023

Time: 6:00 p.m. ‒ 7:45 p.m. (GMT+7)

Registration link: https://bit.ly/40yijzq

Event co-organizers:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica,
the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture, UN-Nutrition,
the United Nations Environment Programme, ICLEI, Rikolto and
RUAF-Hivos

Join us for the launch of a new discussion paper that unpacks the crucial interlinkages between nutrition and the environment. Developed under the umbrella of UN-Nutrition, thanks to the United Nations Environment Programme and other Member Agencies, the paper also explores strategies and methodologies that policymakers and other stakeholders can draw on to foster collaborative, evidence-based governance to achieve mutually reinforcing goals.

This side event will be also an opportunity to hear from different cities and regions around the world about the actions they are taking and how they are yielding co-benefits for nutrition and the environment. With a mix of speakers from government, the United Nations and civil society (provisional agenda below), the event will incite a dynamic discussion about the way forward.

Provisional agenda


6:00‒6:03 PM Welcome and opening remarks
Roberto Azofeifa, Chief of the Agro-environmental Production Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Costa Rica

6:03‒6:08 PM Objectives and agenda
Stineke Oenema, Executive Secretary of UN-Nutrition

6:08‒6:20 PM Setting the scene: Key messages of the paper
Steven Stone, Deputy Director of the Economy Division, UNEP

6:08‒6:20 PM Linking nutrition and the environment for people and the planet
Tom Arnold, Special Envoy for Food Systems, Ireland

6:25‒7:00 PM Panel: Local experiences on nutrition-environment interlinkages

  • Alwin Kopse (TBC), Head of International Affairs and Food Systems, Federal Office for Agriculture and National UNFSS Convener, The Swiss Confederation
  • Igor Barcellos, Food and Nutrition Security Coordinator of the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Rose Achieng, Agri-Nutrition Coordinator, Department of Agriculture, Kisumu County, Kenya
  • Nyoman Suma Artha, Director, Pasar Rakyat, Bali, Indonesia
  • Runyararo Esther Chibota, Hivos Regional Coordinator Urban Futures Programme, Hivos Hub SAf, Zimbabwe

7:00‒7:30 PM Q&A

Moderated by Stineke Oenema, UN-Nutrition Executive Secretary, with the audience and speakers

7:30‒7:40 PM Wrap-up
Nancy Aburto, Deputy Director of the Food and Nutrition Division, FAO
Representative of the Coalition of Action on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children and All

7:40 ‒7:45 PM Closing remarks
Stineke Oenema, UN-Nutrition Executive Secretary

Additional information about this event and other virtual side events taking place between 24 April and 26 April is available here.

We hope that you will join us and encourage you to share this invitation with others in your network.

With warm regards,
The UN-Nutrition Secretariat

Nutrition at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27)

The UN-Nutrition has announced the holding of 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27)in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 18 November. 

More than 45,000 persons representing Parties, UN and regional organisations, companies, civil society, the scientific community, indigenous and local communities enrolled to enhance and accelerate climate action and follow through on collective commitments and pledges.

Food systems are on the COP27 agenda this year like never before. UN-Nutrition, the United Nations coordinating mechanism for nutrition, will continue to actively engage in raising awareness about the interconnections between diets, food systems, and climate change, as well as emphasising the importance of addressing nutritional and environmental challenges through collaborative policy options that generate co-benefits for people and the planet. UN agencies play an important role in assisting international, national, and subnational policymakers in developing evidence-based policies and programmes that benefit nutrition and the environment. At COP27, UN-Nutrition will advocate for the inclusion of healthy diets derived from sustainable food systems and improved nutrition in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) (NAPs).

The following are some of the events that will be held that are related to nutrition:

  • For the first time in the history of the UN Conference of Parties, COP27 will have a pavilion dedicated to food and agriculture. Organized by FAOCGIAR and The Rockefeller Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Pavilion will host a rich program of events that will show how agrifood systems are part of the solution to the climate crisis, bringing together government and community leaders, farmers, academics and other experts who are taking decisions on innovative solutions to help countries take effective climate action.

Check out the Food and Agriculture Pavilion program here: https://cop27foodpavilion.cgiar.org/


  • Small-scale farmers produce up to 80 per cent of the food in developing countries but receive less than 1.7 per cent of climate finance. Also this year, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will be at COP27 to amplify the voices of small-scale producers and promote their role in climate change responses and resilient food systems.

Check out the IFAD Pavilion program here: https://www.ifad.org/en/web/events/cop27


  • Climate change is already affecting people’s health and will continue to do so at an accelerating rate unless urgent action is taken. The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and partners will host the Health Pavilion that will convene the global health community and its partners to ensure health and equity are placed at the center of the climate negotiations.

Check out the Health Pavilion program here: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2022/11/06/default-calendar/cop27-health-pavilion


Launch event of the Coalition of Action on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children and All

Friday, 13 May 2022

14:00 to 15:00 (CEST)

Register Here

Health, nutrition and environmental sustainability need to be core, cross-cutting foundations of food systems transformation. During the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) of 2021 the call for action to deliver healthy diets from sustainable food systems echoed through dialogues, social movements and national pathways. Formed as an outcome of the UNFSS, the Coalition of Action for Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems (HDSFS) brings Member States, UN Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Academic Institutions and social movements together to deliver on this call.
The Coalition will strive to act as a mechanism for coordinated action on healthy diets from sustainable food systems that provides countries the opportunity to share, learn and inform. It will foster, maintain and gain momentum from multiple stakeholders on the issue, and allow for all to inspire and be inspired. 
 
On Friday 13th of May 2022, join us for the official launch of the Coalition of Action for Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems. The event aims to celebrate the formation of the Coalition and showcase action for HDSFS, inspire current and new members, and catalyze support towards its vision at the country, regional and global level. Members and frontrunners countries will present the planned work and showcase progress so far under the Coalition’s workplan functions.

Additional information and the agenda of the event are available here.