Global Nutrition Report 2020 calls to step up efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten health and food systems around the world, the 2020 Global Nutrition Report calls on governments, businesses and civil society to step up efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weakness of food and health systems, disproportionately impacting already vulnerable populations. As inequalities and malnutrition continue to sweep the world, the 2020 Global Nutrition Report stresses that the need to address malnutrition in all its forms by tackling injustices in food and health systems is now more urgent than ever.
Double burden: Most countries in the world must now be equipped to fight both sides of malnutrition at the same time
Progress is too slow. One in nine people are still hungry or undernourished, while 149 million children under 5 years of age are still affected by stunting globally. Meanwhile, our world has transitioned to one in which more people of all ages are obese than underweight, with one in three people either overweight or obese.
Despite these figures, countries are often unprepared to face the global nutrition crisis. Strong government coordination on nutrition is often lacking; lower income countries tend to deprioritise overweight, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. Financial commitments also don’t match the scale and nature of the issue: increases in domestic resources for nutrition have been marginal at best, and obesity and overweight have been largely ignored in aid allocations.
Gerda Verburg, UN Assistant Secretary General, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Coordinator and member of the GNR’s stakeholder group, said: “2020 must represent a turning point for nutrition. As we look to reinforce our resilience to global stresses, nutrition must become a key component of any emergency or long-term response. Investing in nutrition, renewing and expanding commitments, and strengthening accountability has now become urgent if we want to prepare our systems for future shocks, and avoid a reversal of gain.”
The 2020 Global Nutrition Report in the context of Covid-19
The Global Nutrition Report’s emphasis on nutritional well-being for all, particularly the most vulnerable, has a heightened significance in the face of this new global threat. The need for more equitable, resilient and sustainable food and health systems has never been more urgent.
Executive summary
Malnutrition remains a pressing global challenge. Some progress has been made towards ending malnutrition. But this progress has been slow and deeply unfair. Now is the time to take action and overcome the barriers holding back progress to end malnutrition.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction: towards global nutrition equity
The vision of a world free from malnutrition means leaving no one behind. Understand why equity is the missing piece in the puzzle for ending malnutrition – and how a pro-equity agenda is needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
CHAPTER TWO
Inequalities in the global burden of malnutrition
Learn about how the burden of malnutrition is unequally distributed by examining factors such as location, age, sex, wealth and education. What progress is being made towards meeting nutrition targets at the global, regional and national levels?
CHAPTER THREE
Mainstreaming nutrition within universal health coverage
Nutrition care should form part of the wider package of primary healthcare. The commitment to provide universal health coverage presents an opportunity to make this a reality. Explore the benefits and challenges of mainstreaming nutrition care using the health system framework.
CHAPTER FOUR
Food systems and nutrition equity
Food systems need to change: inequities currently impact the quality, availability and affordability of food. Explore how nutrition outcomes could be improved by rethinking food systems – especially the food environment – to ensure that healthy and sustainably produced food is the most accessible, affordable and desirable choice for all.
CHAPTER FIVE
Equitable financing for nutrition
More investments and strengthened accountability will be needed to meet global nutrition goals. Whether using traditional resources or innovative approaches, financing should target those most in need. What might equity-focused investments to improve nutrition look like?
CHAPTER SIX
Ensuring equitable nutrition: a collective responsibility
We all have a role to play in ending malnutrition, and we must act now. From health systems to food systems, coordination, finance, and accountability – we can do better. Adopting a pro-equity agenda is vital to improve nutrition outcomes and ensure no one is left behind.
Glossary
Shareable definitions of the terms we have used across the report
Acronyms and abbreviations
A list of the acronyms and abbreviations we have used across the report
Endorsements, acknowledgements and suggested citation
Endorsements of the report, thanks to those involved in creating it and a suggestion for how to cite it
Dataset and metadata
The data, metadata and technical note used for the 2020 Global Nutrition Report
Downloads
- ENGLISH
- 2020 Global Nutrition Report (PDF 7.0MB)
- Executive summary 2020 Global Nutrition Report (PDF 1.1MB)
- Launch presentation_2020 Global Nutrition Report (PDF 4.4MB)
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