United Nations General Assembly - UNGA78
United Nations General Assembly - UNGA78
August 30, 2023 - Last update: September 18, 2023What
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making organ of the United Nations. Comprising all Member States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations.
When and where
The 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78), taking place in New York, will open on Tuesday, 12 September 2023, with the first day of the high-level week being Monday, 18 September 2023.
Why
The theme of the this year's UNGA will be ‘Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all’.
Nutrition is both a maker and a marker of development. Improved nutrition is the platform for progress in health, education, employment, empowerment of women and the reduction of poverty and inequality, and can lay the foundation for peaceful, secure and stable societies.
Ban Ki-moonUnited Nations 8th Secretary General
Without adequate and sustained investments in good nutrition, the SDGs will not be realised. The ambition to ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’ is captured in SDG 2, however, at least 12 of the 17 Goals contain indicators that are highly relevant to nutrition. Malnutrition will represent an often invisible impediment to the successful achievement of the SDGs. It results not just from a lack of sufficient and adequately nutritious and safe food, but from a host of intertwined factors linking health, care, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, access to food and resources, women’s empowerment and more.
By embracing the power of nutrition, we can tackle global health disparities, eradicate malnutrition, and uplift lives. It's time to power up, ignite change, and make a lasting impact. Just like a power button ignites energy and possibilities, NutritiON is the switch that activates health, growth, and progress.
Who:
Programme
No country is immune to the burden of different forms of malnutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)) which compromise the health and wellbeing of people everywhere. Despite continuous improvements in health outcomes and economic development, rates of malnutrition remain unacceptably high and progress towards reducing its burden is too slow. Good nutrition protects from illness, shortens the recovery time and reduces the risk of death. It is fundamental for achieving the right to food and the right to health.
Mainstreaming and scaling up nutrition services within health systems would save lives, reduce healthcare spending, and accelerate progress towards the SDG agenda, especially SDG2 and SDG3. Essential nutrition actions are crucial at all levels of health service delivery.
During the UN General Assembly’s 78th session, a high-level meeting (HLM) on UHC is convened to deliver a concise, action-oriented declaration to accelerate progress towards the achievement of universal health coverage by 2030. Bringing together political leaders and health supporters and activists, the HLM on UHC creates an excellent opportunity to ensure a commitment to nutrition in health policy, financing and monitoring as part of the discussion on UHC.
In support of the HLM on UHC, the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, with support from the World Health Organization, UN-Nutrition and co-sponsored Bangladesh and Japan are hosting a special side-event in the margins of the UNGA exploring the urgent need, and opportunities for integrating essential nutrition actions into UHC.
Objectives
- Encourage governments and partners to fully integrate nutrition interventions into national health systems, as an important component for achieving quality universal health coverage;
- Encourage country policy and financial commitments to integrate nutrition interventions into national health systems; and
- Encourage countries to implement concrete measures to integrate nutrition into health systems through the showcasing of concrete examples in champion countries.
Register here.
This dialogue comes at a key time, in the middle of various related events; it follows the High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage and the United Nations Security Council event on famine prevention, but predates the UK's November hunger and nutrition global moment and the US’ ‘Political Declaration on Famine’. It will allow space for the crucial synergies between these overlapping areas to be explored, strengthening outcomes simultaneously.
Please join the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and World Vision International for this side event on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly - register here.
Speakers include:
- SUN Lead Group member and CEO, Save the Children International, Inger Ashing
- SUN Lead Group member and Executive Director, WFP, Cindy McCain
- SUN Coordinator, Afshan Khan
- UNICEF representative
On September 20, at The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel, World Vision will launch a new campaign: ENOUGH. This High-Level event will feature child advocates and partners who will share the scope of our new campaign: there really is ENOUGH to end child hunger and malnutrition.
Speakers include:
- SUN Movement Coordinator, Afshan Khan
Register here.
The panel hosted by DEVEX will help unpack the issue of breaking down silos in aid and development, leveraging the power of partnerships, and mobilizing resources and expertise to tackle today's intractable challenges, as well as future global threats as they emerge, including climate change, pandemics, biorisk, food security, water access, and others. Overall, the event will tackle the need for coordinated responses to global threats, current and future emergencies.
Speakers include:
- Afshan Khan, SUN Movement Coordinator
More information here.
In the face of an unprecedented global food crisis that threatens to further de-rail SDG2, this event aims to provide an opportunity for aligned discussions across the food security, food systems, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, climate, and biodiversity agendas for coordinated action. Good Food For All – SDG2 Event will raise the visibility of and re-energize the SDG2 space; coordinate and strengthen collaboration around SDG2 and across all the Global Goals; and build synergies around SDG2 and its solutions to accelerate action up to 2030.
Join this fireside chat between:
- Afshan Khan, SUN Movement Coordinator and
- Paul Newnham, SDG2 Advocacy Hub