FIAP participated in the conference “Everything begins with food: legislative actions to achieve food and nutritional security with a gender approach in Latin America and the Caribbean” in Salamanca, where it contributed to strengthening cooperation and parliamentary and academic dialogue on food and nutritional security for the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The meeting, which brought together parliamentarians from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal, together with representatives of international organizations, academia and civil society, was organized by the University of Salamanca and the Senate of Spain, with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It also had the collaboration of, among others, FIAP, AECID, the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Salamanca City Council and the Junta de Castilla y León.

The main objective of the conference was to strengthen political and academic commitment in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, promoting inclusive, sustainable and resilient agrifood systems, with a special focus on gender equity. During the event, legislative actions and public policies have been addressed to advance towards food and nutrition security in Ibero-America and the Caribbean, highlighting the importance of strengthening regulatory frameworks, strategic alliances and national budgets to ensure adequate food for all people, regardless of gender, and move towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Within this framework, the Practical Guide for Incorporating the Gender Approach in Legislative Work to Eradicate Hunger and Malnutrition, a key tool for legislators in the region, was presented.

The event has served to consolidate the dialogue between the legislative sector and academia and to advance in the definition of governance and multilateral cooperation instruments such as the First Ibero-American and Caribbean Parliamentary Forum for Food Security.

FIAP participation

FIAP has played a prominent role in this conference. Francisco Tierraseca, director of FIAP, highlighted the financing of the European Union in the fight against hunger, the importance of convergence and the hope of eradicating hunger by acting from multiple sectors. He also recalled the collaboration maintained with the Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Ibero-American and Caribbean Parliamentary Alliance for Food Security for All, with the aim of strengthening legislative action and state policies aimed at food security, gender equity and sustainable development.

He also highlighted the programs in which FIAP collaborates in the fight against hunger and malnutrition in the Latin American and Caribbean region: EU4SUN and EU-CaN Facility. The event was also moderated by FIAP in the panel Advances from regional and global instruments to ensure food and nutrition security, with the participation of the SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) movement.