22 July 2019, Valencia - FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva met Queen Letizia of Spain to discuss joint collaboration in her role as FAO's Special Ambassador for Nutrition.
They discussed the latest data released in the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, which warns that more than 820 million people continue to suffer from hunger in the world while overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions.
Graziano da Silva thanked Queen Letizia, an active nutrition campaigner, for her long-standing and high-profile support to global efforts against hunger and all forms of malnutrition, and for her commitment to help raise awareness about the worrisome rising levels of overweight and obesity, particularly among school-age children.
Queen Letizia was named FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition in 2015.
Since then, she has participated in several FAO events, including the International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition, the 2015 Universal Exhibition in Milan -"Feeding the world, energy for life"- and was a keynote speaker at the 2018 World Food Day ceremony held in Rome.
Talks were held on the margins of the launch of the World Sustainable Urban Food Centre (CEMAS) in Valencia, Spain.
Queen Letizia welcomed the initiative and highlighted the role that cities around the world can play in promoting healthier and more sustainable diets that can help curb obesity and its associated risk factors. She also stressed the importance of nutritional education for children.
Awareness is growing worldwide that efforts to eradicate chronic hunger must be accompanied by a push to improve nutrition - that ensuring good quality of diets is just as important as ensuring sufficient amounts of food.