LOC12:42
09:42 GMT
Audience at the Fourth Annual Food Safety and Nutrition Summit held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
KUWAIT, May 13 (KUNA) -- Health Minister Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi affirmed on Tuesday, that ensuring everyone has access to safe and sufficient food and advancing the nutrition system and its safety represented a cornerstone in the journey toward achieving sustainable development both nationally and internationally.
This came in Dr. Al-Awadhi's speech at the opening of the Fourth Annual Food Safety and Nutrition Summit, organized by the US Department of Agriculture, the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, the Ministry of Health, and the US Embassy.
The summit is being hosted over two days at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with broad participation from representatives of relevant entities in the GCC countries.
Dr. Al-Awadhi stressed that placing human health and dignity at the heart of national and international policies and programs aligns with the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
He noted that practical experiences and scientific studies indicate that neglecting food safety and nutrition cannot merely be measured in numbers, but rather by the scale of human suffering.
He referred to World Health Organization (WHO) reports showing that more than 600 million people suffer from illnesses annually due to food contamination, with these illnesses causing over 420,000 deaths each year including 125,000 children under the age of five, or around 30 percent.
Children account for about nine percent of the global population.
He added that the world is facing an obesity epidemic, affecting more than one billion people globally according to (WHO) reports from 2022. Obesity rates among children have quadrupled since 1990, and more than 15 million children under the age of five were overweight worldwide in 2024.
He noted that Kuwait has taken tangible steps to strengthen the food security and food safety system, including launching a national food security strategy, updating regulations on imported foods, and implementing other measures.
Minister Al-Awadhi praised international cooperation in this regard, particularly with relevant UN bodies, the US, and other partners supporting the development of systems to safeguard food security and its safety.
For her part, US Ambassador to Kuwait Karen Sasahara stated in her speech that the US and Kuwait enjoy close and growing relations in various fields, especially in economic areas related to agriculture and food security. Trade in these sectors reached USD 275 million last year, and USD 3.6 billion in total with GCC countries.
Sasahara noted that representatives of the US agricultural sector are regularly meeting and engaging in discussions with relevant authorities and ministries in Kuwait to explore the use and application of various American technologies and products in pursuit of optimal solutions for sustainable agriculture.
Sasahara stated that this summit aims to deepen mutual understanding and shared perspectives on best practices for food security and safety between the US and the GCC countries.
She highlighted that one of the main items on this year's summit agenda is food safety, which is considered a cornerstone of public health and a pathway to achieving sustainable food security.
She emphasized that the summit also presents an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with Kuwait and serves as a platform to enhance partnerships in the fields of food security and sustainable agriculture with other participating countries.
Sasahara noted that the US exported over USD 191 billion worth of agricultural products in 2024.
She pointed to her country's various programs aimed at building global partnerships, sharing the latest technologies to ensure the safety of agricultural and food products, and heavily investing in scientific research related to agricultural chemicals and food safety.
She added that the US shares with Kuwait and other GCC countries the health challenges related to obesity, diabetes, and chronic diseases.
She explained that the US is working toward effective solutions by improving nutritional quality in its food system, studying and understanding the root causes of these issues, and promoting international cooperation in this field. (end)
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