Food security and nutrition in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020

BANGKOK/ROME, January 20, 2021 /XINHUA/ROME -- The economic impact of the new crown outbreak could jeopardize efforts to improve diet and nutrition in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a joint FAO-UNICEF-WFP-WHO press release on January 20, 2021.
Asia-Pacific region is the most densely populated region in the world.
outbreak, nearly 2 billion people in the region were unable to afford healthy diets.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization jointly released a report entitled Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in the Asia-Pacific Region 2020: Focusing on Mother-Child Diets and Promoting Improved Nutrition.
report, 1.9 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region were unable to afford healthy meals before the outbreak.
outbreak has caused enormous damage to the livelihoods of economies and people in the region.
affordability of healthy meals is essential to ensuring food security and nutrition for all, especially for mothers, children and children.
poor in the Asia-Pacific region are barely able to secure healthy diets because of rising fruit, vegetable and dairy prices.
food prices and disposable income dictate household decisions about food and dietary intake.
The outbreak of the new crown, the lack of decent work opportunities and severe uncertainty in food systems and markets have led to increased inequality in the Asia-Pacific region, with poor households having to change their dietary choices in favour of low-cost, nutrient-poor food as a result of reduced incomes.
to make nutritious food cheaper and more accessible by 2019, more than 350 million people in the Asia-Pacific region are undernourished, almost half of the world's population.
region, an estimated 74.5 million children under the age of 5 are stunted and 31.5 million are physically dlying.
the worst situation in South Asia, where nearly 56 million children are stunted and more than 25 million are wasting.
same time, the number of overweight and obese people is increasing rapidly, particularly in South-East Asia and the Pacific, where an estimated 14.5 million children under the age of 5 are overweight or obese.
problems of unhealthy diets and inadequate nutritional intake persist.
cost of a healthy diet is much higher than that of calorie-rich but low nutritional value, highlighting serious deficiencies in the food system that do not provide affordable nutritional options for all.
women and children face higher nutritional needs and therefore higher costs.
called for the transformation of food systems in the Asia-Pacific region, increased supply and increased household access to nutrition, safe and sustainable diets.
nutrition and healthy diets need to be universal to the general population.
to achieve this goal, the report recommends an integrated approach and policies that play a key role in addressing costs and ensuring healthy meals for mothers, children and children.
to strengthen key systems and improve the dietary nutrition of mothers, children and children is an important issue throughout a person's life.
can have a very negative impact if quality meals are not available for the first 1,000 days of life (i.e. from pregnancy to the age of 2).
young children need to maintain good nutritional levels as they grow up, and every mouthful of food should not be sloppy, especially at a critical time when the baby is just six months old and begins to be exposed to foods other than breast milk.
promote the importance of nutrition in all systems, promote behavioural change, disseminate knowledge, develop lasting behavioural patterns and help people embrace healthy eating.
To that end, it was important to educate the population, spread healthy dietary knowledge and create a healthy environment in families, schools and communities, while investing in girls' education, building infrastructure, providing clean water, sanitation and promoting hygiene practices.
to achieve universal access to nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable diets requires the concerted efforts of partners in the systems of food, water and sanitation, health, social security and education to create an enabling environment.
also need to implement national policies and plans to provide better health services, promote improved mother-to-child and child diets and enhance nutritional outcomes.
diet should be focused on the basic health services for mothers and young children, to deal with undernourishment, overweight, obesity and other persistent diseases, to achieve universal health coverage.
, social security can protect vulnerable groups, stabilize income levels and promote access to healthy meals in times of disaster and crisis.
in the Asia-Pacific region, at least nine governments have developed new crown-and-child subsidies specifically for mothers and children in the social security system.
, we still need to collect and analyse more data to clarify the role of social security in improving mother-child and child diets in the region.
together to mobilize all parties in the food system is essential in achieving food and nutrition security for all.
only by creating a sustainable, nutrition-based food system can we produce diverse and nutritious foods and ensure healthy diets.
efficiency and production levels of the value chain can effectively reduce the cost of food and increase affordability.
, the situation of malnutrition in the Asia-Pacific region is quietly changing, deep-processed food with low prices swept the Asia-Pacific market, nutrition action is imminent.
processed foods contain high levels of sugar and unhealthy fats, lack the vitamins and minerals needed for growth and development, and increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
governments need to invest in fresh and street markets, improve nutrition and food safety, and popularize healthy diets.
regulations to regulate the marketing and sale of food products, especially for children, can effectively curb overweight, obesity and related diseases.
also called for the mobilization of the private sector.
sector plays an important role in transforming the food system or in creating a value chain for healthy meals.
coordinating the major systems, doing more with less, overcoming barriers to access to healthy meals will ultimately help countries and people in the Asia-Pacific region recover quickly from the economic impact of the new crown outbreak, while being well prepared for future crises.
Read the full report: (Copy link to browser open) Related links: FAO and 2019 Coronavirus Disease: FAO 2019 Coronavirus Disease Integrated Response and Comprehensive Recovery Plan: FAO and Food System: FAO and Nutrition: