The FAO and partners have published a New Handbook for Parliamentarians that provides practical guidance on transforming food systems and improving nutrition. The new handbook aims at providing lawmakers with practical guidance on legislative processes that prioritize nutrition. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) partners with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to publish the Handbook on April 19, 2021. The publication is titled “Food Systems and Nutrition”.

The collaborators include the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) are also collaborators.

According to the FAO, one out of three people globally suffers from at least one form of malnutrition. Besides, the economic loss attributable to poor nutrition is estimated at $3.5 trillion per year. Recent research on the worldwide burden of disease has found that a suboptimal diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk.

Also, the FAO notes that there are one or more forms of malnutrition in every country across the globe. As such, the FAO notes that the world’s parliaments must address the issue because it’s one of the major global multi-sectoral issues.

The Handbook’s foreword noted how the COVID-19 had highlighted the weakness of our food systems. The handbook advises governments to take drastic measures and mechanisms to ensure food security. This includes stabilizing and restoring food availability, accessibility, and affordability for all people. It advises that the key focus must be on the most vulnerable. This will help “ensure their food security and nutrition, during and after the pandemic“.

“Parliamentary action is fundamental to securing the right to adequate food for all. Parliamentarians guide and oversee public-sector policies and budget allocations towards transforming food systems that deliver healthy diets for all”.
FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, and IPU Secretary-General, Martin Chungong.

Global trends in undernourished

After decades of steady decline, since 2014, the percentage of people who are undernourished globally has been on the rise. In 2019 this reached 8.9% of the world’s population or nearly 690 million people. Worldwide, 144 million children under the age of five years are stunted and 47 million children are wasted. According to the FAO, the prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age is 32.8% of the world’s women. This situation creates a major barrier to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Meanwhile, the Handbook highlights that access to food alone is not enough; people need nourishment from healthy diets. Delivering such healthy diets requires a holistic approach that supports diets made up of foods that promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and well-being. This approach must incorporate the entire food system – food production, processing, distributing, marketing, supplying, eating, and disposal. Also, it highlights that every aspect of the food system must align to support good nutrition. Adding that single intervention in isolation will likely have limited impact.

Furthermore, it emphasizes that Parliamentarians can play a major role in improving food systems in their respective countries. It advises Parliamentarians to engage with their constituents to know their needs and to advocate for their welfare. Also, it calls on Parliamentarians to enact appropriate laws based on the level of need, the scale and scope of problems, and cost-effectiveness. It also, notes that Parliaments should place nutrition and food systems foremost in budget-related decisions.