The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025
UNSCN commits to the Nutrition Decade
UNGA Resolution 70/259 declared on 1 April 2016 called on UNSCN’s coordinating function to support the implementation of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025). From the start, UNSCN has stepped up to the request as part of the informal secretariat of the Nutrition Decade, through the implementation of its Strategic Plan 2016-2020 and in accordance with its mandate - see ECOSOC, Institutional arrangements relating to nutrition, 63rd session, E/5968, 26 April 1977.
In 2018, two years into the Nutrition Decade, UNSCN reaffirms its full commitment to continue supporting the development, delivery and monitoring of the achievements that come as a result of these efforts. UNSCN has helped to ensure an inclusive, continuous and collaborative process, building upon and connecting the independent initiatives of governments and their many partners. Moving forward, UNSCN will carry on sharing the ideas and contributions of all relevant actors through online discussions, events, publications and communication channels. Since it assisted with the development of its Work Programme, UNSCN will further help to facilitate and provide guidance on the implementation of ICN2 outcomes. UNSCN is vested to the outcome of the Nutrition Decade and encourages all its members to commit considering their specific characteristics and comparative advantages. Moving forward, UNSCN will reach out to more UN agencies and bodies and invite them to actively contribute to the Decade. The coordination of these actions by UNSCN will help ensure that the final collective result is greater than the sum of the individual efforts.
For the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition to achieve longstanding results, we need to be forward thinking and adaptive to the constantly evolving nutrition landscape. UNSCN is playing a part to ensure that current research covered by knowledge platforms and the academic community are enough to support the intensification of sustainable actions towards the elimination of all forms of malnutrition by 2030. The ultimate goal of this effort is to push the research community to come forward and fill these knowledge gaps. UNSCN also builds bridges between the intergovernmental decision making forums of its members, and that of the Committee on World Food Security, as part of its effort to engage in all relevant fora to ensure that nutrition is mainstreamed. The membership of the UNSCN continues to grow, showing the multi-disciplinary nature of nutrition and the increased number of UN agencies committed to make this Decade a success.
UNSCN is guided by the human rights framework, particularly the right to food, gender equality and the realization of women’s rights which are key to achieving the nutrition goals. Inherent barriers exist in food systems that prevent people from overcoming persistent and intergenerational malnutrition and poverty. In order to overcome these barriers and ensure that no one is left behind, systematic analysis of food system dynamics, as well as the various causes of malnutrition, will help assess how equity impacts and is impacted by nutrition. Therefore, UNSCN will sustain its efforts to make human rights, equality, equity and non-discrimination remain central to our work.
As we move further into the Decade, UNSCN works to translate the selected policy options and strategies into country specific commitments for action, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and various regional strategic frameworks. Clear common principles should guide the process of developing and implementing local strategies, which can then be applied to specific contexts with an eye to developing locally specific and pragmatic strategies. UNSCN has developed the Guidance Note on Integration on Nutrition in the UNDAF and, in close collaboration with the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, ensures that UN Country Teams are better equipped to integrate nutrition into their planning and programming, and to reflect nutrition-related risks and opportunities in the Common Country Analysis.
The Decade of Action on Nutrition will continue to guide the work of the UNSCN, and all of its products, events and other actions will contribute to its success.
Download UNSCN’s official commitment here.
As of January 2021, UN Nutrition has officially superseded UNSCN and the UN Network for SUN and it remains committed to support the implementation of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025.
