the world and inadequate nutrition and anaemia were contributing to worsening development outcomes. Food production was taking a heavy toll on the environment, exacerbated by the large amount of food waste worldwide. Pandemic-related disruptions of food systems were reversing progress towards erasing hunger by 2030 and providing a stark reminder of the vast inequality that exists around the world, especially for people affected by humanitarian crises and other vulnerable groups. The COVID-19 pandemic had reduced access to school-based nutrition programmes for hundreds of millions of children. The impact of school closures was particularly dire for girls, who were vulnerable to early marriage, adolescent pregnancy and abuse. Nutrition programmes for pregnant women and infants, already underfunded before the pandemic, were also affected. Looking towards the future, producing enough food to meet the needs of an increasing population while using fewer resources would require an approach combining scientific progress with indigenous knowledge. It was recommended that Governments ensure universal access to high-quality social services that allowed vulnerable populations to obtain the human capital required to raise their earning potential, including by ensuring that women, young peopl e and older persons had access to land, capital, training, services and technologies. International aid flows were insufficient, both for population-related programmes and for interventions that had direct positive impacts on small farms. On 20 April, a high-level panel on the road towards the Food Systems Summit was held, followed by interactive debate. The panel was moderated by the Director of the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn in Germany, Joachim von Braun, and consisted of the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Environment Programme, Ligia Noronha; the Chief Economist of FAO, Maximo Torero Cullen; the Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division of IFAD, Jyotsna Puri; the Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063, Ousmane Badiane; the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Lawrence Haddad; and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thought for Food, Christine Gould. The panellists discussed links between population trends and policies, food systems, nutrition and sustainable development and described innovative approaches to transform global food systems – assuring that an end to hunger can be within reach. The experts discussed the main impacts of curren t food systems on nature and climate and how they limit the ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. They addressed proposals to transform food systems – through science, technology and youth-led initiatives – in order to end hunger and improve the well‑being of vulnerable populations. The experts stressed the crucial roles of: (a) reducing inequality to ensure everyone can eat healthy diets and move out of poverty; (b) upholding human rights, creating jobs and ensuring equity across the value chain; (c) developing skills to address all aspects of food system transformation; (d) working together to consolidate disparate efforts to transform food systems; (e) increasing the resilience of food systems by focusing on the needs of small-scale farmers; and (f) bridging the digital divide by increasing access to digital tools for young people. During the interactive discussion, attention was brought to the relevance of proper maternal and early childhood nutrition. Global leaders were called on to provide youth with a platform for change and to invest in health‑care systems affected by the pandemic. It was noted that access to good nutrition for newborns must become a priority and that breastfeeding played a central role in ensuring proper nutrition. The role and contribution of young people and activists in efforts to transform food systems was highlighted. 6/32 21-06093