The WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil presented its South-South cooperation experience on national and regional food systems during the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the United Nations Food Systems Summit for the Americas and the Caribbean (UNFSS+4), from 7 to 9 April 2025, in Santiago (Chile).
The Centre shared the results of projects in the areas of social protection, family farming and school feeding, highlighting its specific actions on food systems.
One of the highlights was the Nurture the Future Project, which focuses on promoting healthy and adequate nutrition for girls and boys in Latin America, by aligning regional priorities with the promotion of healthy diets, in accordance with the UNFSS+4 lines of action.
For Eliene Sousa, a nutritionist at the WFP Centre of Excellence, strengthening international South-South cooperation is a tool to drive the transformation of food systems. ‘The evidence base and accumulated experiences in the field are fundamental to creating resilient food systems,’ she said.
Food systems
Food systems are complex sets of processes involving the production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food, covering areas such as agriculture, fishing, the food industry, transport, public policies and cultural and economic aspects.
They also consider environmental impact, including sustainability, the use of natural resources, biodiversity and climate change, as well as addressing social and nutritional issues, such as access to healthy food and the reduction of hunger and malnutrition.
Next steps
The Meeting included plenary sessions and debates with the aim of fostering the exchange of experiences between participants and allowed national representatives, Member States, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector, financial institutions, academia and other stakeholders to assess progress and challenges in transforming food systems into more sustainable, inclusive and resilient structures.
The Second Assessment Moment of the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS+4) will be held in Addis Ababa from 27 to 29 July 2025.