From October 14 to 18, the 46th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CSF) was held in Rome, Italy. Members from over 100 countries are present to discuss ways to achieve the goals of the SDG 2, which seeks to eradicate hunger and ensure food and nutrition security for all people by 2030.
The theme of this year’s meeting was: “Accelerating the progress on SDG 2 to achieve all the SDGs.” The event highlighted the erradication of hunger as indispensable for the promotion of sustainable development worldwide. The discussions this year were focused on issues related to the double burden of nutrition, food waste and food programme innovations, as the Executive Director David Beasley said in his speech.
A Brazilian delegation was present throughout the event, composed of members of the Brazilian Permanent Representation for FAO, IFAD and WFP from the Brazilian Embassy in Rome, the Ministry of Education, the National Education Development Fund, the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, as well as to the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger.
Side Event: School Feeding
In addition to the plenary meetings on global hunger elimination challenges and solutions, the Committee also held more than 50 side events. One was the panel titled “Investing in Schools for a Sustainable Impact on Nutrition”, focusing on the role of school feeding in innovating developments in addressing the double burden of malnutrition through interventions in school settings.
Co-organized by the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE), FAO Brazil, UN Network and UNSCN (United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition), the event took place on October 17th. With the participation of representatives from Brazil, Senegal, Honduras, and academia, the side event presented schools as a specific food system, discussing the types of actions that can be implemented, and presenting good practices for improving nutrition standards through of school feeding. Bibi Giyose, Senior Nutrition Officer of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), spoke prominently at this event, highlighting successful experiences of national programs from African countries. Mediated the event: Cornelia Richter, vice president of the United Nations International Fund for Development in Agriculture (IFAD), and Lauren Landis, Director of the WFP’s Nutrition Division.
Members of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the National Education Development Fund (FNDE) participated in the activity. Maria Fernanda Nogueira Bittencourt, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Education, presented the Brazilian School Feeding Programme and highlighted the scope of the National School Feeding Programme: “PNAE started 64 years ago and is constantly being improved. It has a budget of $4 billion and serves more than 40 million students in the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities.”
“There are two essential pillars for managing and implementing a large-scale program like PNAE. The first is the multisectoral approach. We work in partnership with various areas and ministries in government, and without these partnerships, our acting at the national level would not be possible. The other pillar is the technology strategy. Here, it is important to highlight “PNAE Monitora”, a system that allows us to collect and analyse program data in real time. On the other hand, we have E-PNAE, an app that allows us to create a direct dialogue with students with photos and comments they make about the school meal they receive daily. This interface with our direct beneficiaries is a great differentiator of the programme, ”said Karine Santos, Director of Educational Actions at FNDE.
In parallel to the event, the Brazilian delegation met at WFP headquarters with the Governmental Partnerships and Program and Policy divisions to discuss new strategies and joint actions with Brazil through the Centre of Excellence.
CSA Plenary
The Committee on World Food Security meeting, which was attended by youth, opened with discussions on the State of Food Security and Nutrition 2019 Report. Participants shared good practices and lessons learned in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to explore ways to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The International Rural Women Day, celebrated on October 15th, began with a lecture by a West African farmer who presented some of the challenges she and other farmers in her region face.
Collaboration between various Committee members was also the subject of one of the panels, focusing on sharing experiences on successful partnerships at different scales. Another topic addressed was the impact of climate on food production and how agroecology and other innovative approaches can be used to eradicate hunger.
The CSF aims to be a more inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for members to work in a coordinated way to ensure food security and nutrition for all people. The event, which has been around since 1974, underwent renovations in 2009 to ensure that voices from all stakeholders were heard in the global debate on the topic. In addition to government representatives, members of civil society and private sector organizations participate in the Committee.