WHO Calls for Safer Urban Food Policies as Cities Become Epicenter of Global Nutrition Crisis

The WHO report warns that rapidly growing cities are becoming the frontline of the global nutrition crisis, urging governments to transform urban food environments through stronger food safety, healthier public procurement, better planning, and tighter regulation of unhealthy foods. It concludes that coordinated investments by governments, development partners, and the private sector can improve public health, reduce healthcare costs, strengthen food security, boost local economies, and build more resilient and sustainable urban food systems.

As cities continue to expand, they are becoming the defining battleground in the global fight against hunger, obesity, food insecurity, and foodborne diseases. A new World Health Organization (WHO) report warns that urban food environments now play a decisive role in determining whether countries can achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 on ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition. With more than half of the world's population already living in urban areas and that share projected to approach 70% by 2050, the report argues that healthier and safer food systems must become a central part of urban planning, economic development, and public policy. The findings highlight that improving city food environments is no longer just a health priority but an investment in human capital, economic resilience, and sustainable growth.

Urban Growth Is Driving a Global Nutrition Crisis

The report presents alarming global nutrition figures that demonstrate why cities deserve immediate policy attention. Around 673 million people remain hungry, while 2.6 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Child malnutrition continues to undermine future productivity, with 150.2 million children under five stunted, 42.8 million suffering from wasting, and 35.5 million already overweight. At the same time, obesity is rising rapidly, with 2.5 billion adults overweight, including 890 million living with obesity.

Urban lifestyles are accelerating these trends. Longer working hours, increasing commuting times, smaller homes, and greater reliance on convenience foods have reduced home cooking and increased dependence on supermarkets, fast-food outlets, restaurants, and online food delivery services. Many urban neighbourhoods have become "food deserts," where fresh food is difficult to access, or "food swamps," where unhealthy food outlets dominate. Heavy marketing of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt further influences consumer behaviour, especially among children and young adults.

Food safety is another growing concern. WHO estimates that unsafe food causes 600 million cases of foodborne illness, 420,000 deaths, and the loss of 57.1 million healthy life years every year. Poor sanitation, weak food storage, inadequate infrastructure, and unsafe food handling make densely populated cities particularly vulnerable to foodborne diseases.

Cities Hold the Strongest Policy Tools for Change

The report argues that local governments possess powerful policy instruments capable of transforming food systems faster than many national initiatives. City administrations oversee schools, hospitals, childcare centres, markets, public transport, parks, and urban planning—all of which directly influence people's daily food choices.

WHO recommends introducing healthy public food procurement policies that require schools, hospitals, and other public institutions to serve nutritious, safe, and sustainably produced food while limiting foods high in unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt. Because governments purchase food at a large scale, these policies can reshape entire supply chains, encourage healthier food production, and stimulate local agriculture.

Urban planning is equally important. Cities can use zoning laws to limit fast-food outlets near schools, regulate outdoor advertising, encourage fresh food markets, support urban farming, expand access to clean drinking water, and create breastfeeding-friendly public spaces. The report highlights London's restrictions on advertising unhealthy food across its public transport network as evidence that planning policies can reduce purchases of unhealthy foods while protecting children from aggressive marketing.

Major Opportunities for Governments, Development Partners, and Business

The report carries significant implications for policymakers, development banks, UN agencies, and private investors. Urban food systems are now closely connected with health, education, agriculture, climate resilience, poverty reduction, and economic productivity, making them an important development priority.

Governments are encouraged to invest in safer food markets, cold-chain infrastructure, sanitation systems, nutrition-sensitive urban planning, food safety laboratories, and digital monitoring systems. Such investments not only improve health outcomes but also reduce healthcare costs, strengthen local economies, create employment, and improve workforce productivity.

International development partners, including multilateral development banks and UN organizations, can support countries by financing urban food infrastructure, strengthening food safety regulations, providing technical assistance, and promoting successful city-level initiatives. The report cites international platforms such as the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration, the FAO Urban Food Agenda, and WHO's Healthy Cities Movement as examples of collaborative approaches already helping cities build healthier food systems.

For the private sector, the report identifies both risks and opportunities. Food manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, and online delivery platforms are likely to face stricter nutrition standards, food safety requirements, marketing restrictions, and sugar taxes. However, businesses investing in healthier food products, transparent labelling, sustainable sourcing, improved food safety, and affordable fresh-food distribution can benefit from shifting consumer preferences and government procurement programmes.

Building Healthier Cities Requires Long-Term Commitment

The report concludes that healthier urban food environments should be treated as an economic development strategy rather than simply a public health intervention. Better nutrition improves educational performance, strengthens labour productivity, lowers healthcare expenditure, supports agricultural value chains, and creates more resilient local economies.

WHO recommends that governments adopt integrated food policies combining healthy public procurement, stronger food safety systems, nutrition labelling, fiscal measures such as taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, restrictions on unhealthy food marketing, support for breastfeeding, urban agriculture, and continuous public education campaigns. Progress should be measured through indicators such as compliance with nutrition standards, reductions in unhealthy food advertising, greater access to fresh produce, improved food safety performance, and stronger consumer awareness.

The report ultimately delivers a clear message for policymakers and development stakeholders: the future success of national health systems, food security, and sustainable economic development will increasingly depend on how effectively cities create food environments that make healthy, safe, and affordable diets accessible to everyone.