On the sidelines of the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) on Tuesday, “[r]epresentatives of governments, civil society and the private sector joined United Nations agencies … to emphasize the importance of good nutrition, which is vital not only for human health but also for national economic and social development,” the U.N. News Centre reports. The event “took place one year after the launch of the Scale Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, a global initiative that aims to improve maternal and child nutrition,” the news service reports (9/20).

At the meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. has made nutrition “a central element” of the Global Health Initiative and the Feed the Future Food Security Initiative, according to a State Department press release. “The United States is firmly committed to our investments in global nutrition, and we believe fervently that improving nutrition for pregnant women and children under two is one of the smartest investments we or anyone can make,” she said (9/20).