Nutrition and Food Safety
The Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) Department is addressing the burden of disease from physical, chemical and microbial hazards in food and unhealthy diets, maternal and child malnutrition, overweight and obesity.

Safe, healthy and sustainable diets

The cross-cutting unit on Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Diets coordinates and brings together relevant inputs from other units in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety to strengthen the coherence and alignment of WHO’s guidance, policy actions and provision of scientific advice and technical support to the Regional and Country Offices as well as to Member States and support the delivery of increased impact at the country level to achieve the 1 billion target of healthier populations.

This Cross-Cutting Unit develops evidence-informed WHO guidance on:

  1. diet and health to reduce the burden of diet- and nutrition-related health problems, including obesity and diet-related NCDs; and
  2. policy actions to create enabling food environment which promotes safe, healthy, and sustainable diets, and technical tools, such as nutrient profile models for different policy applications,  to ensure WHO’s guidance and support are solidly based on science.

News

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Publications

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WHO global anaemia estimates: key findings, 2025

The brief on key findings from the 2025 edition of the WHO anaemia estimates provides a snapshot of the current status of anaemia among women aged 15–49...

Levels and trends in child malnutrition: UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group joint child malnutrition estimates: key findings of the 2025 edition

Child malnutrition estimates for the indicators stunting, severe wasting, wasting and overweight describe the magnitude and patterns of under- and overnutrition. ...

Use of lower-sodium salt substitutes: WHO guideline summary

This document is a summary of a WHO guideline, the full version of which is available only in English and can be accessed at https://covid.comesa.int/publications/i/item/9789240105591....

Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in facilities providing maternity and newborn services: the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative: monitoring manual

This document provides countries with various tools and strategies for monitoring adherence to the Ten Steps at the internal facility, external...