Development of the National Food System-Based Dietary Guidelines

By 2027, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, with development partners, commits to develop the National Food System-Based Dietary Guidelines (FSBDG) that are evidence-based and culturally relevant. Evidence-based recommendations on diverse and nutritious diets will inform policies along the food systems chain, including production, processing, distribution and consumption. FSBDG can catalyse a multisectoral approach to nutrition by providing evidence-based information on healthy diets. This integration ensures a unified and consistent approach to promoting health and nutrition across various sectors, leading to improved dietary practices and public health outcomes.

Formulating FSBDG will be grounded in scientifically sound and culturally appropriate methods. This is an innovative tool to combine the advantages of food system analysis, nutrition education and nutrition mainstreaming into cross-sectoral policies. Such guidelines are critical for not only enhancing food and nutrition education and enabling informed consumer choices, but also for engaging stakeholders across all sectors of food systems, particularly agriculture and health in holistic policy development, and to inform tangible actions to improve the food environment. The initiative will also highlight the hidden costs of unhealthy diets on health, the environment and society. They will also guide consumers’ sustainable food choices, which are good for health and good for the planet.

FSBDG will provide the necessary framework for the Multisectoral Plan of Action for Nutrition (2026–2030). The commitment aims to reduce prevalence of stunting from 14% (Demographic and Health Surveys [DHS] 2023) to 7%, to reduce wasting from 6% (DHS 2023) to 4%, prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age from 36% (DHS 2023) to 20%, and prevalence of overweight and obesity from 6% ( World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative 2019) to 5% among school children by 2030.