Advocacy Brief - Ambitious, SMART commitments to address NCDs, overweight & obesity

This brief illustrates how recommendations in the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Framework for Action
can be translated into policy commitments which are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).
The ICN2 Framework for Action contains a set of policy actions that governments pledged to implement as part of the ICN2
Rome Declaration to address malnutrition in all its forms (overweight & obesity, stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies).1
The brief focuses on SMART commitments which target overweight & obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable
diseases (NCDs); where possible, policy actions are identified which reduce undernutrition at the same time (so-called
double-duty actions). Double-duty actions have the potential to impact undernutrition, NCDs, overweight & obesity
at the same time, as opposed to addressing specific types of malnutrition in isolation.
SMART commitments to address malnutrition in all its forms
Governments are currently off-track to meet global nutrition and NCD targets, namely the 2025 nutrition targets of the
World Health Organization (WHO)2, the global WHO NCD targets3, and the nutrition and food security related targets in the
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Action to implement multi-sector policies and to increase policy
coherence4 across different government ministries is urgently needed to achieve these global targets. Recognising this need
for sustained and coordinated action, the UN General Assembly has proclaimed a Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025
(Decade of Action) reinforcing the commitments of the ICN2 Rome Declaration and Framework for Action.
Against the background of the Decade of Action, we call on governments to:
u Set ambitious national food and nutrition targets aligned with the ICN2 Rome Declaration and Framework
for Action to ensure bold action to end all forms of malnutrition.
u Make SMART financial and political commitments to implement the ICN2 Framework for Action.
u Develop robust accountability mechanisms to review, report on and monitor SMART commitments with the
involvement of civil society.
u Align national agriculture, nutrition, and NCD strategies and related policies to ensure policy coherence.
u Prioritise double-duty actions to address stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies while simultaneously
protecting against overweight & obesity.5