East Asia and the Pacific

Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat.   But nutritious food is getting more and more expensive, and parents – especially mothers – may not always have time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. Food manufacturers have been quick to develop…, COMMIT Activities, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT implemented four activities in Thailand: COMMIT Activity 1: A comprehensive nutrient gap assessment in diets of children…, Taking Action, COMMIT recommends that Thailand strengthens national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. To support this work, COMMIT developed a ‘ Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of…, Watch and share our call to action video:, COMMIT logo_white background

Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat.   But nutritious food is getting more and more expensive, and parents – especially mothers – may not always have time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. Food manufacturers have been quick to develop…, COMMIT Activities, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT implemented four activities in the Philippines: COMMIT Activity 1: A comprehensive nutrient gap assessment in diets of…, Taking Action, COMMIT recommends that the Philippines strengthens national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. To support this work, COMMIT developed a ‘ Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of…, Watch and share our call to action video:, COMMIT logo_white background

Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat.   But nutritious food is getting more and more expensive, and parents – especially mothers – may not always have time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. Food manufacturers have been quick to develop…, COMMIT Activities, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT implemented four activities in Viet Nam.  COMMIT Activity 1: A comprehensive nutrient gap assessment in diets of children…, Taking Action, COMMIT recommends that Viet Nam strengthens national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. To support this work, COMMIT developed a ‘ Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of…, Watch and share our call to action video:, COMMIT logo_white background

Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat.   But nutritious food is getting more and more expensive, and parents – especially mothers – may not always have time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. Food manufacturers have been quick to develop…, COMMIT Activities, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT implemented four activities in Indonesia: COMMIT Activity 1: A comprehensive nutrient gap assessment in diets of children…, Taking Action, COMMIT recommends that Indonesia strengthens national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. To support this work, COMMIT developed a ‘ Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of…, Watch and share our call to action video:, COMMIT logo_white background

Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat. But nutritious food is getting more and more expensive, and parents – especially mothers – may not always have time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. Food manufacturers have been quick to develop…, COMMIT Activities, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT implemented four activities in Malaysia.  COMMIT Activity 1: A comprehensive nutrient gap assessment in diets of children…, To read more about the key findings in Malaysia, download the COMMIT reports:, Taking Action, COMMIT recommends that Malaysia strengthens national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. To support this work, COMMIT developed a ‘Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of…, Watch and share our call to action video:, COMMIT logo_white background

In today’s increasingly modern and urbanized world, traditional diets are shifting towards more processed foods that are higher in salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, and lower in essential nutrients. Young children’s diets are no exception. More and more parents have limited time to prepare home cooked meals for every feeding. In response, the food…, What is a commercially produced complementary food?, Mother standing with her baby infront of an aisle at the supermarket with commercially produced complementary food UNICEF They are commercially produced food and beverage products that are specifically promoted as suitable for older infants and young children between 6 months and 3 years of age.   Products are considered to be ‘promoted as…, Download and explore the COMMIT Summary Report, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – was established to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. To this end, COMMIT conducted an assessment of more than 1,600 commercially produced complementary food products, as well as…, What does the study show?, finding 1 icon The diets of older infants and young children lack sufficient micronutrient content to adequately fuel their growth and development. finding 2 icon Mothers are conscious of the nutrient composition of commercially produced complementary foods and are influenced by the information and claims on their labels. finding 3 icon There are…, Taking action, COMMIT therefore recommends that countries across Southeast Asia develop new, or update existing, national regulations on the nutrient composition and labelling practices of commercially produced complementary foods, in line with international guidance. Regulations should prohibit the use of added sugars and sweeteners, limit sugar and sodium…, Compendium of international standards and guidelines, To help guide the development of new or updated national standards for commercially produced complementary foods, COMMIT developed a ‘ Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia ’. The Compendium outlines the essential nutrient…, Learn more about the results from COMMIT Activities for each of the seven COMMIT countries:

Children need a lot of energy and nutrients to grow, develop and thrive, especially in their first three years. That’s why children’s first foods are so important. Families try hard to provide their children with a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat.   But nutritious food is getting more and more…, COMMIT is working to change this, The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia – known as COMMIT – aims to better understand the use, quality and regulation of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. COMMIT assessed over 1,600 commercially produced complementary foods marketed for children aged 6 months to 3 years as well as consumer…, Learn more & take action, Whether you’re a parent or policy maker, learn more below on the results from COMMIT’s study and what you can do., I'm a parent / caregiver, I'm a policymaker / researcher, What needs to be done?, To help every child enjoy healthy and nutritious food, UNICEF and COMMIT partners are calling for: Improved national regulations for commercially produced complementary foods, including prohibiting the use of added sugars and sweeteners, limiting sugar and sodium content, and prohibiting the use of misleading marketing labelling. Strict government…, Who is COMMIT?, Eight-month-old Adifa smiles while being photographed at home in Bogor, West Java Province, Indonesia UNICEF/2021/Wilander COMMIT was established to support governments with regulating commercially produced complementary foods and to protect consumers from inappropriate marketing practices.  It is a joint initiative by the UNICEF East Asia Pacific…

Gaming is great fun. If it wasn’t, 1.7 billion people around the world wouldn’t be regularly gaming. Not only are games entertaining, they also help people connect, and even learn. Fast growth and rapid technological developments have reshaped online gaming, but also introduced significant new risks for children and their safety. Imagine a 15-year…

BANGKOK, 9 November 2023 – In the presence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment no. 26 was formally launched in Southeast Asia today at an event hosted by the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok. The new General Comment, which was published in August, explicitly addresses the climate emergency and the…

In the East Asia and Pacific region, UNICEF has been at the forefront of promoting the Child Friendly Cities (CFC) concept since 1999, generating growing interest in recent years with more than 150 Asian cities involved. The UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) has supported cities and communities in their commitment to implement the UN…

BANGKOK/NEW YORK, 6 October 2023 – Weather-related disasters caused 43.1 million internal displacements of children in 44 countries over a six-year period – or approximately 20,000 child displacements a day - according to a new UNICEF analysis released today. Children Displaced in a Changing Climate is the first global analysis of the number of…

"It has been four years since I became a part of this great journey, and I am always grateful to have the role of UNICEF Regional Ambassador for East Asia and the Pacific . One of the most honorable jobs on Earth is to advocate for children and their rights. "This time, I also speak as a UNICEF NextGen Global Principal to the theme of "ASEAN 2045…