This meeting was convened with the aim of support of Member states by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in their efforts to scale-up policy implementation and to translate knowledge and action. Representative of nutrition across 22 countries of the region participated in this meeting. Experts from the WHO Headquarters and the Regional Office updated delegates on relevant WHO guidance and resources, and opportunities for technical support.

Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, stressed on the heavy burden of malnutrition in the Region: “Malnutrition in all its forms takes a heavy toll on the health, well-being and sustainable development of populations in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. The countries of the Region face the double burden of malnutrition – where undernutrition coexists with increasingly common overweight and obesity.” Concluding his opening remarks, Dr Al-Mandhari called for more action to tackle malnutrition: “Further comprehensive, multi-sectoral action is still required to accelerate progress to address malnutrition in all its forms across the Region. We believe it will contribute to improving nutrition and achieving the regional vision: health for all by all.”

Nutrition focal points from all Member States shared their experiences and success stories around addressing nutrition as a major health issue. They discussed countries’ actions to improve nutrition in low-income and emergency contexts and identified priorities to speed up progress on nutrition across the Region. Case studies of successful policy implementation have been shared and common challenges, and strategies to overcome these challenges were identified. Member State support needs and opportunities for intercountry collaboration were defined.

Based on the nutrition situation and the challenges and opportunities in the countries, priorities were determined and discussed in order to progress the field of nutrition in the region. In this regard, the proposal from the NNFTRE regarding food reformulation to tackle obesity and non-communicable diseases was taken into consideration. It was agreed to share Iran’s successful experience with the applicant countries. Taking advantage of the three-day opportunity, individual meetings were held with representatives from different countries. The institute shared its available capacities to encourage collaboration. To facilitate this, pamphlets introducing the institute, faculty, and Incubation and Innovation center were prepared in English and distributed to some participants.