3 June 2008: Noting that food choices and nutrition are
highly sensitive to food prices, World Health Organization (WHO)
Director-General Margaret Chan sent a message to the FAO High-Level Conference
on World Food Security, which convened in Rome, Italy from 3-5 June 2008,
highlighting that “the food crisis is a direct threat to much hard-won progress
in health development.”

Chan’s statement was delivered by Eric Laroche, Assistant
Director-General, and urged priority action for the 21 hot spots of acute and
chronic undernutrition identified by WHO, and called for “gearing up capacity”
for managing malnutrition in young children. [Statement] [Conference website]
[IISD RS coverage]