Availability, accessibility and affordability of quality food are vital for food security, says FAO

Rome - At World Nutrition Day 2026, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, emphasized that food security is not a problem of food production alone but a combination of food availability, food accessibility and food affordability, as well as the quality of food. He addressed the high-level event "Delivering as One for Coherent Nutrition Action" during Rome Nutrition Week 2026 at FAO headquarters in Rome.

"We must produce sufficient, diverse, and safe food, but food availability is not just about calories - it is about the quality of what we grow," he said.

Referring to the "Four Levels of Food" framework, the Director-General outlined a pathway from basic staples that prevent hunger, to nutritious foods that provide essential vitamins and minerals, healthy diets that reduce disease risks, and functional foods with scientifically proven benefits beyond basic nutrition, such as fermented products or bio-fortified crops

He affirmed that "FAO is working with countries to reshape agrifood systems, so they deliver not just basic staples, but nutritious, healthy, and functional foods." This involves diversifying production, reducing post-harvest losses, and protecting biodiversity to ensure food diversity on our plates.

Regarding food accessibility, Qu highlighted the need for targeted interventions for vulnerable populations: "For rural communities, indigenous peoples, and women-headed households, we need targeted interventions such as school feeding programmes, local food procurement, and support for smallholder farmers to connect to markets."

On the issue of food affordability, the FAO Director-General noted: "Today, healthy diets are simply too expensive for billions of people; with the cost of a nutritious diet exceeding average incomes in many low-income countries," highlighting that 2.6 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. He urged that "we cannot solve this by production alone - we need social protection, income support, and policies that lower the price of fruits, vegetables, and proteins."

Delivering as One

The Director-General emphasized that the "Four Levels of Food" provide a crucial roadmap for enhancing food security. However, he noted that implementation requires systemic coherence.

"That is why 'Delivering as One' is so critical," he stated. No single agency can fix food affordability, and no single ministry can ensure accessibility. "We need inter-institutional, cross-government, and effective collaboration with all stakeholders," he added.

FAO is working with all partners to achieve the following objectives: (i) align agrifood policies with nutrition outcomes; (ii) strengthen food environment monitoring, and (iii) promote biofortification and functional food innovations:

"On this World Nutrition Day, let us move beyond fragmented efforts and commit to working together in an efficient, effective, and coherent manner to ensure that basic, nutritious, healthy, and functional foods reach those who need them most," the Director-General concluded.

Later this year, FAO will publish its first High-Level Report on the State of Healthy Diets, aimed at strengthening the global evidence base for nutrition policymaking and supporting countries in designing more effective responses to malnutrition.

The event

The high-level event featured participation from representatives of international organizations and governments, including Najat Mokhtar, Deputy Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Chair of UN-Nutrition; Álvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP); Jürg Lauber, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross; and Massimo dell'Utri, Under Secretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.

Janja Lula da Silva, FAO Special Goodwill Champion Against Hunger and First Lady of Brazil, delivered remarks stressing that nutrition is a matter of human dignity and warning that millions of people still lack access to healthy diets, while obesity and the growing consumption of ultra-processed foods are increasingly affecting vulnerable communities.

The Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan spoke through a video message, and the event also included participation from Ambassadors from Costa Rica, Indonesia, Senegal, and Ireland.