29 September 2022 – The WHO country office in Egypt convened a 3-day workshop to review and finalize the national food and nutrition strategy 2022–2030, supporting the Ministry of Health and Population and the National Nutrition Institute.
WHO, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme provided technical support in the developent of the national strategy.
The event was attended by high-level representatives and experts from different sectors, most notably the health sector, including His Excellency the Minister of Health and Population Dr Khaled Abdelghaffar, WHO Representative in Egypt Dr Naeema Al Gasseer, and WHO Regional Advisor on Nutrition Dr Ayoub Jwaldeh. It was also attended by heads of United Nations agencies, and high-level representatives from the Ministries of Social Solidarity, Agriculture, Education, Higher Education, Tourism, Justice, Defense, Trade and Industry, Supply and Internal Trade, Planning and Economic Development, in addition to parliamentarians and academicians.
The national food and nutrition multisectoral approach ensures coordination and facilitates implementation of the cross-cutting strategy and is a priority for Egypt.
Dr Khaled Abdelghaffar noted that achieving the goals of the national strategy for food and nutrition would require work across a group of different agencies and sectors, which was set as a comprehensive principle in the draft strategy draft.
The proposed strategy aims to achieve access to healthy, safe, sustainable, and affordable diets through a resilient food system and create an integrated, high-quality and universal health care system that supports improvements to nutrition by delivering essential nutrition services throughout the life course, by 2030.
Following the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 and the WHO regional strategy on nutrition, the strategy will also accelerate progress towards the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
“Poor nutrition is a major risk factor for several noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. NCDs are estimated to be responsible for as many as 84% of deaths in Egypt. In addition to its severe health impact and burden on the health system, poor nutrition is also associated with huge economic consequences that manifest in increased health care costs, reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, low educational achievement and even premature mortality,” said WHO Representative Dr Naeema Al Gasseer.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted progress on food security but it also presents an opportune moment for building back better and healthier, through an integrated approach that brings together relevant stakeholders and capitalizes on partnership to ensure for better health outcomes for everyone.