Select your language
Strategies and interventions
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, our work is guided by the Strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020–2030 and the Regional framework for action on obesity prevention 2019–2023. The regional strategy and framework identify evidence-based, feasible and cost-effective interventions for improving nutrition to support health and wellbeing for all, at all ages, and to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and Goal 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages), together with other regional and global commitments within the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and WHO’s Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025, which aims for “a world free from all forms of malnutrition where all people achieve health and well-being”.
The regional strategy and framework capture global commitments made by countries to end hunger and reduce the premature death and disability caused by all forms of malnutrition. The 2 documents provide countries with high-impact, evidence-based, cost-effective and affordable interventions, which can be implemented by all countries, irrespective of income. We are working with governments and other partners to support the implementation of the regional strategy and framework, which will have a high impact on improving the health of people across the Region, and will play a major part in assisting countries to meet their commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020–2030
In October 2019, the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean endorsed a regional strategy to support countries scale up action on nutrition in the Region. This comprehensive nutrition strategy establishes a framework for efforts to reach agreed targets on nutrition, diet-related noncommunicable diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease) and sustainable development, as well as to guide implementation of the remainder of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition in the Region. The vision and overall objective of the nutrition strategy are outlined below.
Vision: Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have strengthened action on nutrition to achieve food security, end all forms of malnutrition and improve nutrition throughout the lifecourse by 2030.
Overall objective: To support countries strengthen efforts to ensure universal access to healthy and sustainable diets and implement effective nutrition actions, in order to:
improve nutrition throughout lifecourse, including for mothers, infants, children, adolescents and older people;
prevent undernutrition, overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease); and
support and protect nutrition in emergency situations.
Strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020–2030
Regional framework for action on obesity prevention 2019–2023
In October 2018, the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean endorsed a regional framework to support countries scale up action on obesity prevention in the Region. This document translates a series of policy priorities into regional commitments. The regional framework provides strategic interventions and indicators for countries to assess their progress in the four domains of:
Regulatory action (fiscal measures, public procurement, food supply and trade, labelling and marketing)
Prevention (physical activity interventions, mass media campaigns, breastfeeding and reformulation)
Obesity management and treatment (health sector interventions)
Surveillance (assessment and monitoring)
Regional framework for action on obesity prevention 2019–2023
United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition
The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition is a commitment by United Nations Member States to undertake 10 years of sustained and coherent implementation of policies, programmes and increased investments to eliminate all forms of malnutrition, everywhere, leaving no one behind. The Decade will increase visibility of nutrition action at the highest level and ensure coordination, strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration, create synergies and measure progress towards sustainable food systems and food and nutrition security for all.
The Nutrition Decade sets a concrete timeline for implementation of the commitments made at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the recommendations included in its framework for action to meet a set of global nutrition targets and diet-related noncommunicable disease targets by 2025, as well as relevant targets in the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030—in particular, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages). Led by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition calls for policy action across 6 key areas:
Sustainable, resilient food systems for healthy diets.
Aligned health systems providing universal coverage of essential nutrition actions.
Social protection and nutrition education.
Trade and investment for improved nutrition.
Safe and supportive environments for nutrition at all ages.
Strengthened governance and accountability for nutrition.
Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025
This fit-for-purpose and coherent nutrition strategy was developed by the Programme Area Network on Nutrition in response to a renewed global momentum for improving nutrition and a resultant increased complexity of the nutrition landscape. This has been the first-ever strategic exercise on nutrition undertaken by WHO. WHO’s Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025 is anchored in the six global targets for improving maternal, infant and young child nutrition and the global diet-related noncommunicable disease targets.
In support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and Goal 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages), and together with the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, WHO’s Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025 aims for “a world free from all forms of malnutrition where all people achieve health and well-being”. It defines the unique value of WHO for advancing nutrition: the provision of leadership, guidance and monitoring and proposes a theory of change. Finally, following a set of guiding principles, it proposes priority actions for WHO, the delivery model and a clear allocation of roles across the Organization.
Related links
About 9 voluntary global targets
FAO/ICN2 Second International Conference on Nutrition: better nutrition, better lives
FAO/WHO Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2)
Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2)
Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger
Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
