According to the text, this was the visit’s goal to Panama by the Director of FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division Lynnette Neufeld who met with various teams from the health sector, academy, United Nations agencies and professionals, among others.

‘We don’t need to fill stomachs, we need to nourish bodies, because we know that there is an economic cost to the country if people are not nourished and that is not just about a stomach full of calories, that implies a healthy diet,’ the authority noted.

Neufeld’s stay also served to exchange knowledge and strengthen the discussion on laws related to food and nutrition security in the region.

During those meetings, intersectoral and multidisciplinary strategies for the updating and effective pursuing of those policies were identified, and the foundations were laid for experts and decision-makers of the specialized institutions of the Central American

Integration System (SICA) to promote best practices and joint regulations.

Neufeld stressed that many of the policies needed to improve agrifood systems for nutrition coincide with those required to halt and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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