The 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) called for urgent transformation of food systems to deliver healthy diets from sustainable food systems for all – and address problems of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency in parallel to a growing obesity crisis. Many countries have developed food systems transformation pathways that require changes in public and private investments and in policies regulating food environments.
During the UNFSS, 27 Coalitions were set up to enhance coordinated efforts towards transforming food systems, one of them being the Coalition of Action for Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems (HDSFS). The HDSFS Coalition is comprised of multiple Member Countries, UN Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Academic Institutions, Social Movements, and serves as a collaborative platform to advance promoting healthy diets from sustainable food systems. It aims to mobilize and coordinate stakeholders, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, and manage special projects to integrate nutrition, health, and sustainability across food systems.
The HDSFS Coalition, of which the SUN Movement and FAO are active members, are joining efforts to conduct an online webinar together with Coalition Member countries and academic partners, focusing on dietary guidelines and incorporation of nutrition and sustainability aspects. The event is a part of a webinar-series organized in the run up to the SUN Global Gathering (GG) to set the scene for key topics of discussion in Kigali, Rwanda 26-28 November 2024.
This webinar will unpack the role of dietary guidelines in realizing healthy diets from sustainable food systems. An overview of the soon-to-be launched FAO-led methodology for developing food systems-based dietary guidelines (FSBDGs) will also be presented. This new approach provides a foundation for developing dietary guidelines that extend beyond health considerations, incorporating broader aspects of the food system, including environmental, and sociocultural sustainability.
Countries will showcase the value they see on this new FSBDGs approach for their national dietary guidelines, fostering group discussions to identify obstacles and opportunities for enhancing FSBDGs integration into policy and program initiatives beyond the health and nutrition domain.
Objectives
- Provide an overview of the new FAO’s FSBDGs methodology.
- Showcase country experience with dietary guidelines, linking to the new FSBDGs methodology.
- Foster dialogue between stakeholders on the policy implications of FSBDGs as a lever for promoting healthy diets from sustainable systems and in the lead up to the SUNGG.
