In 2024, the ILO reported that 60% of the global population, which equates to 4.8 billion people are part of the global workforce.
Many workers, especially in the global south, will face a double burden of malnutrition, dealing with both under nutrition and over nutrition. Since most people spend about a third of their adult lives at work, often eating at least one major meal there, whatever food they eat there may have far reaching effects.
Here are some examples. Productivity laws that may cost countries up to 20% of their full capacity. Improving workplace nutrition can reduce absenteeism, accidents, and illnesses while boosting morale and enhancing a company's reputation.
Recognizing the importance of this issue, we at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, conducted a detailed study on how nutrition is integrated into global occupational safety and health regulations (OSH). GAIN's analysis focused on four key components of labor regulationL:
International standards - gobal agreements set benchmarks for workplace safety practices
National laws - workplace safety laws in 17 countries were reviewed to see how they address unique local challenges.
OSH focuses on preventing work related accidents and illnesses and managing risks in the workplace.
Collective bargaining agreements - contracts negotiated between employers and employees that influence workplace safety practices.
Codes of practice - these are voluntary guidelines, offering recommendations for safe and healthy work environments.
Together, these frameworks provide a comprehensive picture of how workplace safety is managed globally. What we found out was that nutrition is often overlooked in these safety frameworks, meaning low integration across all four areas, nutrition is rarely a focus. Industries like construction, shipping and mining show stronger links to nutrition policies. In these sectors, workers often rely on employers to provide meals because of limited access to food during the workday.
Many regulations include related practices, such as hygiene, clean drinking water, medical checkups, and designated eating areas that could be expanded to include nutrition. Of 52 international agreements, only 4% clearly committed to nutrition goals with 29% showing some consideration for nutrition.
Of 44 National OSH Laws from the ILO database, the 14% included nutrition links. Among 15 national laws outside the ILO database, 13% mentioned nutrition codes of practice varied by industry with a construction code demonstrating the strongest effort to address nutrition.
As mentioned before, healthy diets in the workplace reduces accidents, improves morale, and enhances productivity. It also contributes to broader goals like the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim for healthier and more sustainable diets worldwide.
Here are some ways workplace safety and health regulations can better address nutrition:
Providing nutritious meals or meal allowances for employees
Designating clean, comfortable eating areas with adequate time for meals
Creating breastfeeding friendly spaces, and offering education on maternal and infant nutrition
Including nutrition assessments in regular employee health checks
Educating employers, employees, and policy makers on the importance of nutrition.
Occupational safety and health isn't just about preventing accidents, it's about promoting overall health and wellbeing. By integrating nutrition into workplace policies, we can create healthier, more productive work environments and move closer to achieving a better quality of life, make healthier diets accessible to all.
Afshan Khan: Welcome to this discussion on Human Rights Day. I'm delighted to join you, with my colleagues. We are here to talk about nutrition as a driver for occupational health and safety because it's a critical but often overlooked aspect of workplace safety and health.
In 2024, according to ILO 4.8 billion people, about 60% of the global population are part of the workforce. We spend roughly a third of our lives at work, often eating at least one major meal there. The quality of those meals affects not only individual wellbeing, but also broader workplace outcomes like absenteeism, accident rates, and even company reputation.
The GAIN study shows how nutrition is integrated, or in many cases, overlooked in global occupation, safety and health regulations. The conclusions are that nutrition is rarely a priority. There are exceptions, particularly in industries like construction, mining and shipping, where workers often depend on employer providing meals due to the limited access to food. These sectors are showing us that integrating nutrition into workplace safety is possible and effective.
This discussion is about more than individual wellbeing. It's about the ripple effects on productivity, morale, and long-term sustainability into integrating good nutrition into workplace health policies isn't just a nice to have, it's a must have.
The SUN business network has championed initiatives that integrate nutrition into workplace policies and practices, especially in sectors with high rates of malnutrition. For example, the Indonesian company, IndoFood, has committed to introduce a corporate nutrition policy for a productive and healthy workforce. They aim to reach around 90,000 employees and improve maternal health and support breastfeeding for approximately 2,200 working mothers. These efforts not only boost individual wellbeing, but also enhance workplace productivity, demonstrating the business case for investing in nutrition.
In today's conversation, we'll explore the findings of the GAIN study, unpack why workplace nutrition matters, and discuss practical ways to integrate it into occupational safety and health frameworks. From meal allowances and clean eating areas, to breastfeeding friendly spaces and nutrition education, the clear steps we can take to make workplaces healthier and more productive for everyone.
So whether you're an employer, a policymaker, or an employee, I hope our interviews can provide some food for thought on how we can collectively fuel the workforce for a healthier, more sustainable future. Let's get started.
Joaquim, the report highlights low levels of nutrition across most labor domains. What do you see as the primary barriers to incorporating nutrition consideration into occupational safety and health standards?
Joaquim Pintado Nunes: Thank you so much for the question. I would focus maybe on four main reasons, the first one being that there's not much awareness in many countries, you know, the very important link between nutrition and workers' health and safety. We quite often see that nutrition is overlooked, when, we are dealing with, you know, national legislation, but also workplace policies addressing safety and health at work.
As quite often, there isn't a clear understanding that nutrition affects, you know, energy levels of workers, and also the ability of workers to perform their tasks with safety.
So, the second reason, would also, have to do with the reality of many workplaces. So we know in the ILO, that six out of every 10 workers in the world are informal, and even more than these eight out of every 10 economic units are informal. So quite often also these workplaces which tend to be, you know, composed of, small uhno, small enterprises, sometimes family businesses also don't have all the access to information that, you know, we would think they have in terms of what does it mean? We have good nutrition in the workplace. And also we have to say that given the economic reality of many of these workplaces, they would need any kind, you know, some kind of support, namely, from government programs so that, you know, the information would be there, but also that so that there would be an incentive, as a matter of fact, to provide good nutrition to workers. Especially when you think, you know, some, well, the context of the informal economy, quite often, you know, the meals that work as you know, have in the workplace are the, the main meals of the, of the day. So we can easily understand how important these are. The third, , reason that I would highlight, is also the fact that there's not, that many, you know, studies available on, the link between poor nutrition, and workplace safety and health. So I, I think that, more, knowledge is, is needed. And also what we see, in many member states is that there is still a fragmented approach between the ministries that, are responsible for labor, for health, for education. and again, this asks for, what we now call, you know, this, whole of government approaches so that nutrition is considered, you know, as part of, well, not, not, not only as part of labor, but also, as part of, you know, the needs of people to be informed about, you know, how to eat, you know, properly - and this should start at a very young age, you know, at school, which it's not yet the case in many, in many places.
Afshan Khan: Thank you so much, Joaquim. And, and thank you for bringing up the multi-sectoral approach, in multi-stakeholder to nutrition. Lawrence, what do you see for your organization in advocating for better nutrition integration into labor laws, both for gain and for SPN?
Lawrence Haddad: Thank you. Thank you for the question. I mean, I think we at GAIN and SBN are, are used to advocating together with our partners, advocating for nutrition in contexts that seem initially unpromising. Um, consider, we've worked with, we've worked to reduce tariffs on imported certificants in Pakistan, and just recently in Nigeria, we've worked with Codex and partners to incorporate food safety in traditional markets, just been adopted by Codex and their protocols. We've even worked with financial institutions to establish a blended finance, fund for nutritious food. It's an impact fund. It's called a nutritious food financing facility, N3F. And in every one of those cases we partnered with an organization that really understood the sector that we were trying to weave and insert nutrition into.
So, ILO is obviously a very key partner in this regard for all of us on this call. I think what gain and, and partners bring to the table is the ability to demonstrate that incorporating nutrition into workforce policies actually works. We actually know how to do it. We've actually evaluated the impacts of it on people and on the businesses.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I was in Addis and I was taken to a big garment factory in one of the big industrial parks outside of Addis, 9,000 employees. Um, 90% of them young women from 18 to 30, and they're getting two meals a day. And what really struck me was how enthusiastic the employer was about the whole program and how they were taking on the costs after the first year or two of pump priming. So we can also bring to the table again and, and some business network is the evidence. We know, for example, the ratios for businesses are are three to one, to six to one. So the benefit cost ratio of investing a dollar or rupee, or a peso in these programs is very high. And I'm, I'm really optimistic, Han 'cause I think from a consumer perspective, there's a growing concern about worker conditions behind the product, especially imports from countries where workers are more vulnerable.
From a business perspective, I'm businesses want a competitive edge - as you said, there's greater productivity, but also more loyalty to the company. From a government perspective, these kinds of policies can make supply chains much more resilient. And we saw how important this is during Covid. And from a generational perspective, if you talk to people who manage wealth for a living, they'll tell you that we're on the verge, or we are witnessing the largest ever transfer of wealth from parents to their adult children. And the daughters and sons are much more likely to take on these companies and these assets if there is a social purpose as well as a commercial one. So I'm optimistic, I think, I think we bring a lot to the table with our partners, and I'm optimistic we will, we will get there.
Afshan Khan: Thank you so much, Lawrence, and thanks for bringing out, I think the human rights piece, the evidence and data, the regulatory frameworks and the financing needs. I think that comprehensive approach is so critical. Francesco, how do you feel international organizations collaborate to promote nutrition and workplace policies?
Francesco Branca: I would say there's at least two areas that we need to focus on. The first one is related to women who are a major contributor to, to the workforce. We want really to have, um, women who are at work also being able to, um, have their play, their role in the family without hassle. And this requires good maternity protection laws. It requires that there's adequate, paid maternity leave and adequate environment for breastfeeding, like breastfeeding breaks and, and places to breastfeed.
At the moment, we only have 10% of countries who apply the standards of the International Labor Organization on, on breastfeeding. And this is also, of course, in, in the interest of society. There is a concern about mortality, for example. And clearly having anadequate protection of, of women at work is a component of that. The second important area is about the standards for food offer in, in, in the workplace, but also the protection and the promotion of good nutrition on the workplace. We know that, for example, obesity is one of the main drivers of abs and we have now over a billion people in the world who are affectedby obesity. So clearly there must be a concern, on the workplace to, for example, prevent, obesity and, and offer good work-based programs, to promote healthy diet and adequate physical activity.
But also we need to have, um, good services, for example, on the diagnosis and screening the kind of, pharmaceutical treatment if needed. These are all needed elements. We as international organization need to have a dialogue with thethe employers, but also with the employees to the trade union mean that trade union have a very important role in making those demands to their employers.
Afshan Khan: Thank you so much, Francesco, and thank you for so clearly elaborating that better support for women in the workforce is really a critical element in terms of making sure we break the inter-generational cycle of malnutrition, but also, tackle workplace health through breastfeeding support, quality of nutritious food, and then, care and medical support at the workplace. Lawrence, there's a few immediate actions that can be taken to address the identified gaps in nutrition integration. What are those and, and how do you see them being put in place?
Lawrence Haddad: Well, thank you. I think we can establish a group of eight to 10 countries who agree to explore the possibilities for increasing commitment to including nutrition in their occupational safety and health policies. We already have six examples of legislative changes according to the report, so I think there's something to build on there. We can also work with ILO to explore the possibilities of promoting nutrition within their three codes of practice. And again, according to the report, there's already a good platform for this.
We can invite ILO to become a member of the Workforce and Nutrition Alliance, and we can work in alliance with organizations like CARE and their dignified work progra MasterCard Foundation and their goals of purposeful dignified work for young rural women in Africa. But we need to find a funder who, for them, this is their issue. They really care about this issue. They're passionate about it, but that's really missing at the moment. We, it feels like we're always scrambling around for resources here and there to fund this, this fueling of the workforce initiative.
And if we can work quickly, we can announce some of this at the three up upcoming opportunities in 2025. First, the Nutrition4Growth Summit in March in Paris, then the UN Food System Summit +4 in July in Africa, and finally the Sun Global Gathering in November in Kigali.
Afshan Khan: Thank you so much Lawrence. And thank you for bringing up the recent work in agriculture and food systems. I think how we can better integrate nutrition there is, is clearly one of the challenges, and there's several opportunities to posit this - and given that so many of the work agricultural workforce is predominantly women and much of the produce food is produced by small farmers, I think there's an opportunity, Joaquim, and it's been brought up a lot in terms of collaboration with ILO - Did you wanna come back a little bit into the agenda going forward and how perhaps within ILO, the different parts of the house could connect to bring the nutrition agenda forward more succinctly in different resolutions?
Joaquim Pintado Nunes: First of all, I think there's something very important to be said is that, you know, we all need to share a common view and this common view is that, you know, all labor rights. Well, as a matter of fact, all human rights are interconnected. So, and, as we, we were hearing, you know, from Francesco, for example, you know, nutrition and the right to have access to not to healthy food, of course, we cannot associate this with the right to be protected against occupational injuries, diseases, you know, to wellbeing, at work, maternity protection, working hours. Because for example, you know, of course at the way that, you know, we are, we organize our days when we work, for example, if we work, you know, in shifts or if work at night, there's also quite often brings limitations in, in terms of the, you know, access to food that we may have, in so many sectors like health, for example, security, et cetera.
And also something that we need to take into account is that also diversity needs to be respected as a value. Because we all know that quite often in workplaces where workers don't have many options, you know, to have access to food outside of the workplace, questions like, you know, religion, et cetera, do, do play a difference. So there's also a need to raise the awareness of employers on that, on that sense. So what can the ILO do? Well, first of all, as you may know, since, June, 2022, the right to a safe and healthy working environment became what we call a fundamental principle right at work. And this is very important because it means that all of our members, you know, need to promote and to respect this principle.
And what does it mean in practice? It means that all of our members should have, you know, sound and resilient national frameworks for occupation, safety and health, meaning that they should have, you know, comprehensive national safety and health policies, programs and systems. And what we can do in the Y because we do support our member states to develop these policies, these programs, is also to be more active in terms of integrating nutrition concerns into all, all of these elements. Then of course, we can help to better raise awareness and build the capacities of our constituents, governments, employees and workers. And some of you also mentioned the, the importance of trade unions, for example, on why is nutrition important at national level when formulating policies, but also at workplace level or even, for example, when sitting together employees and workers to negotiate, you know, collective bargaining agreements. So that nutrition is part of, you know, the questions that are addressed by both, both parties.
Also something, that we can do internally, is also to be more aware of the importance of nutrition as I think Lawrence was, was saying, when we develop guidelines, codes of practice, and maybe even new standards, because, um, this is not under the control of the organization because it's a decision of our constituents, of course. But, I would say that the organization can also help constituents to be more, let's say, willing to consider, you know, nutrition, concerns into the normative processes the organization engages in.
So this would be what I would say that we have. And of course, you know, joining alliances, it's always good and again, coming together, you know, to defend this, common view that I do believe it's, it's a common view of all of us here, that, as a matter of fact, no human rights, labor rights, you know, they are, you know, all part of the same, at the same, at the same group and we cannot associate, you know, one from the other.
Afshan Khan: Thank you, Joaquim. Francesco, what immediate actions can be taken to address the identified gaps in nutrition integration, and how best do you think WHO can contribute?
Francesco Branca: WHO is very active in collaboration with UNICEF and several civil society organizations, the context of the global breastfeeding collective, and we're strongly advocating for better implementation of the maternity protection laws. We had a whole world breastfeeding week dedicated to, to the issue.
The second element is providing standards for healthy nutrition and, providing standards for the kind of prevention programs and the health services provided to the workers, so that industries can take it on.
We do collaborate with the World Economic Forum, on these initiatives where we are really trying to see whether, these measures are cost effective and they could be used as an argument for the employers to take that action.
Afshan Khan: And I think, what I see now with this report is there's a significant opportunity to incorporate nutrition considerations into future labor standards. Specific sector legislation show higher nutrition integration compared to general occupation, safe and healthy regulations. And this presents an opportunity to use those sector specific guidelines as models for other industries. And in terms of complementary pathways, despite limited direct nutrition integration, many complementary concepts, so hygiene, sanitation, clean drinking water, all present opportunities for nutrition integration, and these existing concepts can be leveraged to introduce stronger nutrition components to occupational safety and health regulations.
So from the SUN movement, and I know many of the partners here today, we see several concrete joint advocacy efforts are needed from all organizations on the importance of improving nutrition standards and workplace settings.
Starting on this human rights day, we have important milestones, as Lawrence pointed out in 2025 to highlight the role nutrition plays in driving occupational health and safety.
So it was great talking to all of you today, and thank you so much for both conducting the report and, sharing it with this broader audience. I think GAIN's done a tremendous service, and particularly Catherine Lok in terms of being able to so clearly present the data and evidence. So, thank you very much.