“The key to better nutrition, and ultimately to ensuring each person’s right to food, lies in better food systems – smarter approaches, policies and investments encompassing the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers in a sustainable manner,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.

“Every day, more than 840 million people go hungry in a world of plenty. This fact alone should be cause for moral outrage and concerted action.”

The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition.”

A food system is made up of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious foods – and therefore on consumers’ ability to choose healthy diets. However, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective.

“Addressing malnutrition requires integrated action and complementary interventions in agriculture and the food system, in natural resource management, in public health and education, and in broader policy domains,” FAO said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) stressed that understanding food systems and ending malnutrition can transform individuals, societies and economies, and is central to all development efforts.

“Prioritizing nutrition today is an investment in our collective global future. The investment must involve food, agriculture, health and education systems,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.

In addition to the 840 million people suffering from chronic hunger, there are some 2 billion people who lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives. Poor nutrition also means some 1.4 billion people are overweight, with about one-third obese and at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes or other health problems.

WFP noted that if the global community invested $1.2 billion per year for five years on reducing micronutrient deficiencies, the benefits in better health, fewer child deaths and increased future earnings would generate gains worth $15.3 billion.

The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres stressed that food systems are closely linked to climate change as the latter is making it harder to feed a growing population.

“Aside from permanent shifts in climatic conditions which will affect farming, climate change is causing more and more extreme weather, for example tropical storms, floods and droughts which can push subsistence farmers and others living in food insecurity into dire circumstances,” she said.

“If we are to sustainably feed the world’s population in the future we need to see action today that prepares farmers around the world for the impacts of climate change.”

To mark the Day, FAO will be holding events all week at its headquarters in Rome and around the world on the importance of food systems for food security and nutrition.

Today it will hold a plenary hall with various UN agency officials as well as a high-level seminar on global food losses and waste, and on Thursday a special ceremony will be held to mark the culmination of the International Year of Quinoa, with Nadine Heredia Alarcón de Humala, First Lady of Peru and Special Ambassador for the Year in attendance.

On Sunday FAO will hold the Hunger Run 2013 in central Rome, a 10 kilometre competitive run and a five kilometre non-competitive run/walk to raise funds an anti-hunger field project in the Northern State of Sudan.

In a message marking the launch of The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA), Director-General José Graziano da Silva said that although the world has registered some progress on hunger, one form of malnutrition, there was still “a long way” to go.

“FAO’s message is that we must strive for nothing less than the eradication of hunger and malnutrition,” he declared.

The report notes that while some 870 million people were still hungry in 2010-2012, this is just a fraction of the billions of people whose health, well-being and lives are blighted by malnutrition.

Two billion people suffer from one or more micronutrient deficiencies, while 1.4 billion are overweight, of whom 500 million are obese, according to the report, which adds that 26 per cent of all children under five are stunted and 31 per cent suffer from Vitamin A deficiency.

FAO states in a news release that vitamin and micronutrients deficiency together with obesity and overweight, costs to the world economy in lost productivity and health care are “unacceptably high” and could account for as much as 5 per cent of the global gross domestic product – $3.5 trillion, or $500 per person.

“That is almost the entire annual GDP of Germany, Europe’s largest economy,” the agency points out.

FAO notes that, in social terms, child and maternal malnutrition continue to reduce the quality of life and life expectancy of millions of people, while obesity-related health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, affect millions more.

The key to combating malnutrition is healthy diets and good nutrition – which must start with food and agriculture, stresses FAO. “The way we grow, raise, process, transport and distribute food influences what we eat,” it says, adding that improved food systems can make food more affordable, diverse and nutritious.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including using appropriate agricultural policies, investment and research to increase productivity; cutting food losses and waste, which currently amount to one third of the food produced for human consumption every year; and helping consumers make good dietary choices for better nutrition through education, information and other actions.

Among other recommendations is to make food systems more responsive to the needs of mothers and young children. FAO notes that malnutrition during the critical ‘first 1,000 days’ from conception can cause lasting damage to women’s health and life-long physical and cognitive impairment in children.

The agency cites several projects that have proved successful in raising nutrition levels such as the promotion of home gardens in West Africa; encouragement of mixed vegetable and animal farming systems together with income-generating activities in some Asian countries; and public-private partnerships to enrich products like yoghurt or cooking oil with nutrients.

Making food systems enhance nutrition is a complex task, the report points out, adding that it requires strong political commitment and leadership at the highest levels, broad-based partnerships and coordinated approaches with other important sectors such as health and education.

“Food systems governance that is providing leadership, coordinating effectively and fostering collaboration among the many stakeholders is a first priority,” it says.

“In line with the UN Secretary-General’s Zero Hunger Challenge, and in close collaboration with our development partners, we agree that nothing less than the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition is what we should be striving for,” said José Graziano da Silva, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Opening the global consultation on hunger, food security and nutrition in the post-2015 development agenda, held in Rome on Monday, Mr. Graziano da Silva urged the international community to commit to the complete eradication of hunger in setting its development priorities beyond 2015.

Halving the proportion of hungry people in the world by 2015 was among the targets within the eight MDGs. Some 50 countries are on track to achieve this target, the Director-General noted.

Amir Abdulla, Deputy Executive-Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), urged countries to continue to work together to make hunger “the world’s number one solvable problem.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Serè, Chief Development Strategist of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), emphasized that “investing in the sustainable development of rural areas and in inclusive rural growth,” with a focus on smallholder agriculture, is critical for global food security and to the whole post-2015 agenda.

The one-day consultation called for including a focus on nutrition in the post-2015 development agenda, as well as for dealing with the different dimensions of under-nutrition and the fast-growing problems of obesity and related non-communicable diseases, according to a news release issued by FAO.

It also stressed, among other things, that food security and nutrition represent the cornerstone for progress on other development fronts such as employment, education, the environment and health and in achieving a quality future for humankind, the agency reported.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Zero Hunger Challenge, first proposed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil last June, aims for a future where every individual has adequate nutrition. Its five objectives are to make sure that everyone in the world has access to enough nutritious food all year long; to end childhood stunting; to build sustainable food systems; to double the productivity and income of smallholder farmers, especially women; and to prevent food from being lost or wasted.

“As we enter 2013, there is no let-up in humanitarian needs in the world,” the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, told journalists in Rome after she and other senior UN and humanitarian aid officials launched the appeal.

She added of the people in need, “They are displaced from their homes, hungry, unprotected and vulnerable, living with the consequences of natural disasters and violent conflict.”

The funding call is made under the annual Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) that, since its launch by the UN General Assembly in 1991, has become a central tool used by the world body and other aid organizations to plan, coordinate, fund, implement and monitor their activities.

This year’s total will fund emergency relief in 12 African countries, and another three in Asia, as well as the occupied Palestinian territory, according to a news release from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which Amos also heads.

“Working jointly in these 16 countries, we are strengthening our response,” said the Executive Director of the UN World Programme (WFP), Ertharin Cousin, who joined Amos in launching the appeal.

“We are meeting the urgent need for food security and nutrition, shelter, water, health and other basic needs, while simultaneously helping communities recover from emergencies,” she added while also stressing that a “unified response can save lives and help communities become more resilient.”

In her remarks, Amos said the appeal was directed at governments, private individuals and businesses, among others, as she called on them to “contribute to saving lives in 2013.”

She highlighted that 520 UN agencies, non-governmental and other aid organizations had come together to launch the call with the aim to “deliver aid in an effective and coordinated way.”

She also noted how international responses both buttress and enhance local efforts, which she saluted, saying that communities, civil society organizations, businesses, local and national governments were the “first responders, and, throughout a protracted crisis, important providers of support and help.”

OCHA identified the 15 target countries in addition to the occupied Palestinian territory as Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Amos detailed the pressing needs in some of those countries, saying that a million children in Yemen were suffering from acute malnutrition, 1.7 million people in Niger faced food shortages, and a half a million people driven from their homes in South Sudan needed help in addition to some two million people in that country who did not have enough to eat.

The humanitarian chief pointed to several more crises in Africa as she responded to one journalist’s question about the focus on that continent.

“I think many people have forgotten that there are continuing needs in Darfur,” she said of the western Sudanese region stricken for years by ethnic-based strife. She also highlighted humanitarian crises arising from recent strife in both Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amos stated that last year’s CAP appeal for $7.7 billion to help 51 million people in distress remained 40 per cent underfunded.

“This means that people in need in some parts of the world have not been able to get the help they would have had we got the money,” Amos said, adding that it was too early to tell how the global financial crisis might affect funding levels this year.

“We will make the case in a vigorous way,” she added. “These needs are real; they can be seen by anyone; we recognize the difficulties that many countries face with respect to the ongoing situation, but, at the same time, we are talking about people who are extraordinarily vulnerable around the world.”

In response to a question about Syria’s exclusion from the 2013 CAP, Amos said that a separate revised appeal would be launched on 19 December for the Middle Eastern nation, where internal conflict has spawned massive humanitarian needs. She noted that a current appeal to help pay for humanitarian operations inside Syria is asking for $348 million.

There are some 170,000 Sudanese refugees currently in South Sudan, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with more arriving from Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states every day after fleeing conflict and food shortages.

UNHCR will begin distributing more soap, jerry cans and blankets to over 8,200 families with children under the age of five in the Yida camp in South Sudan’s Unity state, where health workers first saw a significant hike in death rates among refugee children in late June and early July.

“We are targeting the most vulnerable refugees in the camp to improve sanitization and minimize the risk of respiratory infections in these households. The distribution of other supplies such as plastic sheeting and buckets will continue throughout the month,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

In the last three weeks, mortality and morbidity rates have stabilized and even decreased, as aid agencies took urgent action to address the root causes, she added.

UNHCR has so far dug two out of the six additional boreholes that will double the supply of potable water in Yida. Drainage systems are being improved at all seven water points to reduce the risk of contamination and water-borne diseases from standing water, and community latrines are being built to meet the needs of the growing population.

“Nonetheless, the challenges remain daunting in Yida,” said Fleming. “This remote border camp now hosts some 60,000 refugees from Sudan’s South Kordofan state, a four-fold increase since April. Children form more than a quarter of this population.”

She said that most refugees have been arriving in a very weak state – exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished. The rainy season has exacerbated the situation, bringing seasonal diseases to an already fragile population.

“The rains have also flooded nearby roads and turned Yida into a virtual island. Airlifts are now the only way to get life-saving aid into the camp,” Fleming noted.

UNHCR is now planning to airlift an additional 8,500 plastic sheets and 15,000 mosquito nets for immediate distribution to the new arrivals. Many are currently sleeping under poorly-thatched roofs, which increase the risk of respiratory illnesses and malaria particularly among children under five.

Meanwhile in Upper Nile state, one in three children is believed to be malnourished in Batil camp, UNHCR reported. Common health problems in this camp of 35,000 refugees include watery diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and increasingly, malaria.

To address the high malnutrition rates, aid agencies started a blanket food distribution across the camp last Sunday, followed by a therapeutic supplementary feeding program to help children recover from moderate acute malnutrition. In addition, some 12 per cent of children under five are receiving treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

In total, Batil has five clinics for health and nutrition treatments, and 20 oral rehydration points throughout the camp. The health agencies have set up surveillance and response mechanisms for possible outbreaks of diarrhoeal and other diseases.

UNHCR noted that it has only received $47.5 million out of the $186 million it needs to meet the urgent needs of the Sudanese refugees in South Sudan.

“Hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in the conflict zone with little access to food, water, shelter and medical services,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos in a statement.

“In order to respond to these growing needs, humanitarian agencies need unimpeded and complete access to all areas. I remain especially concerned that there continues to be no access to areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N),” she said.

Thousands of people are also crossing into neighbouring countries each day after fleeing conflict and related food shortages in Sudan and, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of Sudanese refugees arriving in South Sudan and Ethiopia has more than doubled since April, amounting to 200,000.

“The new arrivals are in a desperate state, with large numbers of children in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition,” Amos said.

While the Sudanese Government announced its acceptance of the Tripartite Proposal of the African Union (AU), the Arab League and the UN for the delivery of humanitarian assistance in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, the Government has laid out operational conditions that do not allow for the delivery of assistance by neutral parties in SPLM-N-controlled areas, Amos noted.

“I therefore continue to call on the Government of Sudan to deliver on its stated commitment: that assistance can reach all Sudanese people in need,” Ms. Amos said, reiterating the UN’s commitment to work with all parties to “find an acceptable solution for the immediate delivery of assistance to all people in need.”

Ms. Amos also welcomed the joint World Food Programme (WFP) and Government verification exercise that recently took place in six Government-controlled areas of South Kordofan, noting that food distribution had already begun, with the initial aim of reaching more than 100,000 people.