Adequate provision of nutrients, beginning in the early stages of life, is fundamental for optimal health and growth. Effective nutrition policies and actions exist but are often inadequate in the face of the complexity of the double burden of malnutrition – wasting, stunting, low birth weight and micronutrient deficiencies on one hand, and overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) on the other. At the same time, the nutrition landscape is changing with the increased marketing of unhealthy processed food, urbanization and economic growth.

The World Health Organization (WHO) envisages a world free from all forms of malnutrition, where all people achieve health and well-being. Actions should target the various causes of malnutrition to achieve sustainable change, which requires a comprehensive and multisectoral approach. WHO works with partners to support Member States to develop, implement and monitor effective strategies and plans, advocate for supportive regulatory actions and policies, and monitor progress of global targets. In the midst of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016 - 2025, there is further opportunity for sustained and coherent implementation of policies, programmes and increased investments to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms, leaving no one behind.