In brief
On National Nutrition Day, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet outlined the country’s plan to achieve universal access to safe and adequate nutrition by 2030, including a goal to reduce under‑five stunting below 19% and wasting below 6%. The declaration recognizes progress in human capital development while highlighting remaining challenges such as anemia, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies.
Prime Minister Hun Manet declared Cambodia’s aim to guarantee universal, safe, and nutritious food for all citizens by 2030 on National Nutrition Day, emphasizing the crucial link between nutrition and national development. The announcement came during the 13th National Nutrition Day celebration in Phnom Penh, a day dedicated to highlighting nutrition achievements and priorities in the country.
Hun Manet highlighted the nation’s two decades of progress in nutrition and human capital development, stressing that a strong commitment and cross‑sectoral collaboration enabled food security and nutrition issues to be addressed for all citizens with the slogan “leaving no one behind.” He noted that these efforts had helped lift Cambodia’s overall nutrition status, but the country still faces persistent challenges that require sustained solutions.
The prime minister enumerated the obstacles to universal nutrition, listing stunting, wasting, anemia, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and related non‑communicable diseases as key areas of concern. He explained that the government’s strategy will continue to target these conditions through policies that promote healthy diets, improved food systems, and increased awareness about nutrition risks.
To quantify its ambitions, Cambodia has set clear 2030 targets: the under‑five stunting rate must fall below 19 percent and the wasting rate must be reduced to below 6 percent. These targets are framed within a broader national agenda to ensure that every Cambodian has uninterrupted access to an adequate, safe, and nutritious diet.
The statement underscored that food security and nutrition are vital for enhancing human capital, boosting work efficiency, fostering sustainable economic growth, and advancing social progress. The prime minister reiterated that the achievement of these developmental goals depends heavily on the continued success of nutrition‑focused programs across sectors.
Hun Manet concluded his remarks with an acknowledgement of the complexity of addressing all facets of malnutrition, from under‑nutrition in children to obesity and related health conditions in adults. He emphasized that achieving universal nutrition by 2030 will require not only policy commitments but also effective, ongoing solutions that are tailored to the diverse needs of Cambodia’s population.
While the government’s targets are clear, the specific measures that will be used to achieve them remain open questions, as does the manner in which the country will tackle the intertwined challenges of stunting, wasting, anemia, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies. The exact mechanisms of future action, as well as the effectiveness of proposed interventions, are uncertainties that have been acknowledged by the government but left unresolved.