On 21 April, the Commission hosted a multi-stakeholder panel on population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development, followed by an interactive debate. The panel was moderated by the Director General of the European Public Health Alliance, Milka Sokolović, and consisted of Associate Professor and leader of the flagship research programme Food Systems for Healthier Diets in the Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Inge D. Brouwer; the Head of the Multisectoral Actions in Food Systems Unit at the World Health Organization, Luz Maria De-Regil; a nutritionist at Feed the Children in Kenya and Youth Leader for Nutrition in the Civil Society Network of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Jane Napais Lankisa; Senior Researcher at and former Director of the Institute of Nutrition at Mahidol University in Thailand, Emorn Udomkesmalee; and Professor of Ecosystem Management in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Rami Zurayk. Panellists discussed obstacles to food security and sustainable food systems. The topics addressed included the changing nature of food systems; maternal, child and adolescent nutrition; the autonomy of women and girls and its relation to food security; and the impacts of climate change, armed conflict and the COVID -19 pandemic on food security for affected people. The speakers noted that access to healthy and nutritious foods was often more difficult for low-income and marginalized households, and that the pandemic had worsened food insecurity and malnutrition, disproportionately affecting vulnerable and marginalized groups. The panellists highlighted the need for a holistic, multisectoral approach to achieving food security and sustainable food systems. They pointed to the importance of women’s empowerment, youth participation and the engagement of the private sector in finding solutions to feeding the world’s population. The panellists emphasized the need for a humane and rights-based approach to strengthening food systems. They also emphasized that policies and programmes needed to be context-sensitive and based on appropriately disaggregated data to ensure that no one is left behind. During the interactive discussion, delegations noted the need for a whole-of-society approach to addressing the numerous challenges related to hunger and malnutrition and delivering safe, nutritious diets. They discussed how best to adapt agricultural production to achieve sustainability and stressed the importance of local factors that affect food availability and access, including climate. Participants noted the double challenge of undernourishment and hunger on one hand and rising levels of obesity and unhealthy diets on the other. The role of faith-based organizations in improving food security and nutrition was stressed. On 22 April, the Commission heard an expert panel on the programme of work in population, followed by an interactive debate. Panellists were national technical experts: Senior Researcher at the French Institute for Demographic Studies and co -head of its research team on the “Demography of the Global South”, Géraldine Duthé; the Deputy Director General of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research of Japan, Hayashi Reiko; the Head of the National Population Council of Mexico, Gabriela Rodríguez Ramírez; and the Chief Director of the National Population Unit of South Africa, Jacques van Zuydam. The panel was moderated by the Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, John Wilmoth. Panellists noted key population challenges in their countries, including changing population age structures and the varied challenges for countries at different stages of the demographic transition; challenges in ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health care for all, including adolescents; and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Panellists commended the achievements of the Population Division and expressed their support for a further strengthening of the analytical and dissemination activities of the Division. The experts acknowledged the challenges of reflecting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in estimates and projections of 21-06093 7/32