The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), took place at FAO headquarters in Rome 19-21 November 2014. Jointly organised by FAO and WHO, the conference brought together some 2200 participants, including member states delegations, representatives from relevant UN agencies, as well as researchers, farmer organisations, private sector and civil society.
The aim of the conference was 1) to assess progress made since ICN1 (1992); and 2) to address global nutrition challenges by identifying policy options ahead of next year’s adoption of a new global development agenda.
The conference adopted the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and a Framework for Action, including 60 voluntary policy recommendations for governments to incorporate into their national policies and investment plans.
The ICN2 is of critical importance as more than half the world’s population is malnourished. Today, one out of every two people on the planet is either undernourished, micronutrient deficient, obese or some combination of all three.
The NCD Alliance and World Cancer Research Fund International successfully advocated for NCDs to be included on the agenda and outcomes of the ICN2. We also produced a Call to Member States calling on delegates to outline the specific actions they planned to take to address the issue of malnutrition, and updated our joint policy brief on The link between food, nutrition, diet and non-communicable diseases, inclduing the WCRF International NOURISHING policy database.
Pre-Conference and Side Events
In addition to the formal ICN2 proceedings, several high-level events took place before and during the conference, including the launch of the WHO policy briefs for each of the six WHA nutrition targets and the inaugural Global Nutrition Report. A Civil Society Pre-Conference on 17-18 November, brought together over 150 representatives of civil society organizations and social movements working on nutrition from around the world. The pre-conference issued a Civil Society Declaration on Nutrition read in the plenary of ICN2.
WCRFI Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Dr Corinna Hawkes, was the lead speaker at a roundtable at the official ICN2 discussing “Improving Policy Coherence for Nutrition” – the need for aligning policies designed to promote healthy diets with policies and programmes in other sectors.
Her presentation can be viewed here.
Interesting Articles on ICN2 Follow-up
Lawrence Haddad: Think we can't end global malnutrition by 2030? Think again.
Brecht Lein: Five Points to Take Away from the ICN2
Corinna Hawkes: ICN2 - a starting point for preventing malnutrition in all its forms
The Lancet Editorial: Feeding the world sustainably