Agriculture development, food security and nutrition A/RES/72/238 Recalling the Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases 19 and the outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, 20 and looking forward to the high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases to be held in 2018, Welcoming the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on antimicrobial resistance, held in New York on 21 September 2016, and its political declaration, as set out in resolution 71/3 of 5 October 2016, in which the Assembly reaffirmed the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, 21 developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with, and subsequently adopted by, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health, Welcoming also the action plan on antimicrobial resistance 2016–2020 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which supports the food and agriculture sectors in implementing the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with, and subsequently adopted by, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health, Expressing concern that the current pace and scope of implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 2 is unlikely to promote the transformational change needed and that its targets will not be achieved in many parts of the world, Expressing concern also that the multiple and complex causes of the food crises that occur in different regions of the world, affecting developing countries, especially net food importers, and their consequences for food security and nutrition require a comprehensive and coordinated response in the short, medium and long term by national Governments, civil society, the private sector and the international community, reiterating that the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition are poverty, inequity and lack of access to resources and income-earning opportunities, and remaining concerned that excessively volatile food prices can pose a serious challenge to the fight against poverty and hunger and to the efforts of developing countries to attain food security and improved nutrition and to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to ending hunger and malnutrition, Recalling the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, 22 acknowledging that forests provide essential ecosystem services, such as timber, food, fuel, fodder, non-wood products and shelter, as well as soil and water conservation and clean air, and that forests prevent land degradation and desertification and reduce the risks of floods, landslides and avalanches, droughts, dust and sand storms and other disasters, and stressing in this regard the role of all types of forests, including boreal, temperate and tropical forests, in providing food security, Reaffirming the importance of supporting the African Union’s Agenda 2063, as well as its 10-year plan of action, as a strategic framework for ensuring a positive socioeconomic transformation in Africa within the next 50 years and its continental programme embedded in the resolutions of the Gen eral Assembly on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and regional initiatives, such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, __________________ 19 20 21 22 17-23316 Resolution 66/2, annex. Resolution 68/300. World Health Organization, document WHA68/2015/REC/1, annex 3. See resolution 71/285. 3/11