UNITED NATIONS – The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic andsurging food prices are keeping almost two billion people in Asia and thePacific from healthy diets, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday.
According to the 2020 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, theregion’s poor have been worst affected, forced to choose cheaper and lessnutritious foods.
The report is jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) andthe World Health Organization (WHO).
“The outbreak of COVID-19 and a lack of decent work opportunities in manyparts of the region, alongside significant uncertainty of food systems andmarkets, has led to a worsening of inequality, as poorer families withdwindling incomes further alter their diets to choose cheaper, lessnutritious foods,” the agencies said.
“Due to higher prices for fruits, vegetables and dairy products, it hasbecome nearly impossible for poor people in Asia and the Pacific to achievehealthy diets, the affordability of which is critical to ensure foodsecurity and nutrition for all – and for mothers and children inparticular.”
As a result, progress is also slowing on improving nutrition, a key targetfor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of 2019, over 350 millionpeople in the region are estimated to have been undernourished, with anabout 74.5 million children under five stunted (too short for their age)and 31.5 million suffering from wasting (too thin for height).
The UN agencies went on to note that while nutrition is vitally importantthroughout a person’s life, the impact of a poor diet is most severe in thefirst 1,000 days, from pregnancy to when a child reaches the age of two.
“Young children, especially when they start eating their ‘first foods’ atsix months, have high nutritional requirements to grow well and every bitecounts,” they said.
The agencies called for an integrated systems approach – bringing togetherfood, water and sanitation, health, social protection and education systems– to address underlying factors and achieve healthy diets for all mothersand children.
They also highlighted the “changing face” of malnutrition, with highlyprocessed and inexpensive foods, readily available throughout Asia and thePacific. Often packed with sugar and unhealthy fats, such food items lackthe vitamins and minerals required for growth and development and alsoincrease the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The report urged governments to invest more in nutrition and food safety topromote healthy diets, as well as regulate sales and marketing of food forconsumers, especially children. It also highlighted the need for actionwithin the private sector, given the sector’s important role in the foodsystem and its value chains for achieving healthy diets.