Turkmenistan will chair the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Nutrition Capacity Development and Partnership Platform for the next two years.

According to UNICEF Representative in Ashgabat, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Turkmenistan and UNICEF on the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Nutrition Capacity Development and Partnership Platform. The Memorandum was signed at the high-level international conference on peace and trust held in Ashgabat.

The document was signed by the Minister of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan Nurmuhammed Amannepesov and UNICEF Representative in Ashgabat Christine Weigand.

The Platform is a systematic, multi-country partnership-oriented mechanism to develop the nutrition governance and food systems capacities in 8 countries in Central Asia and Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). 

“UNICEF thanks the Government of Turkmenistan for its commitment in prioritizing children’s nutrition and food security in the region,” said Christine Weigand, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan during the Memorandum signing ceremony.

The foundations for this regional initiative date back to November 2014 when member states at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) committed to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms and developed a common vision for collective action to address the targets set by SDG 2 to end hunger and improve food security and SDG 3 to improve health and reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases.

The UN General Assembly reinforced the ICN2 call for action through the relevant resolution and proclaimed 2016-2025 as the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, thus establishing a timeframe to address all forms of malnutrition globally. 

Correspondent, “The Golden Age”

Photo: Vyacheslav SARKISYAN