Given the rates of urbanisation and the high prevalence of different forms of malnutrition in urban areas, it is critical to mainstream the role of urban food systems in the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) alongside national governments.

Currently, 70 per cent of food is consumed by urban inhabitants, with this share expected to increase.
Cities offer a crucial entry point for transforming food systems, inter alia, for improved nutrition and influence food systems governance: they can assess, strengthen and integrate the links between food and connected areas, such as public health, social development, employment, etc.

To facilitate the engagement of cities and local governments to the UNFSS and to other global policy processes, an Urban Food Systems Working Group was created in 2020 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), which includes international city networks, academia, civil society organizations, and UN Agencies.

This Global Summit Dialogue — jointly organised by FAO, GAIN, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments and the UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat — wants to bring political attention and promote significant actions and commitments towards sustainable urban food systems transformation, exchanging perspectives of local governments representatives and various urban food systems stakeholders.

LIVESTREAM Available on http://www.fao.org/urban-food-agenda