PHILIPSBURG--The Health Ministry’s Collective Prevention Services (CPS) says adopting a healthier diet and supporting local food producers are actions that support the country’s future.
CPS’ comments come as the world celebrated World Food Day (WFD) on Tuesday, October 16. World Food Day was a day of action against chronic hunger and malnutrition, where people around the world come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger.
The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and WFD partners are calling on people to work more closely together to create opportunities so that everyone can lead a healthy and productive life.
The theme for World Food Day 2018 is “Our actions are our future.” Currently, 821 million people – one in nine people – suffer from chronic hunger worldwide, according to the FAO 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.
At the same time, 1.9 billion people are overweight, including 672 million obese adults. Extreme weather events linked to climate change; aggressive, violent encounters (conflict), economic slowdown and rapidly increasing overweight and obesity levels are reversing progress made in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Now is the time to get back on track, CPS said in the release.
According to the FAO, zero hunger means working together to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the safe, healthy and nutritious food they need. To achieve it, we must adopt more sustainable structures and systems; lifestyle, work with others; societal mobility and involvement; share our knowledge and be willing to help change the world – for the better.
At the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, 193 countries pledged to end hunger in the next 15 years.
