Multisectoral Partnerships to Embed Healthy Lifestyle Approaches 2nd Annual National Obesity Summit 2026

Distinguished delegates, colleagues, partners, 

Good afternoon. 

Let me start very directly: 
The sharply rising obesity rates in our Region are a clear signal— 
we are making it too easy to be unhealthy and too difficult to be healthy. 

This is fast becoming one of the defining public health challenges of our time. 

The scale is significant. 
Nearly 3 out of 10 adults in our Region are already overweight, with rates rising fastest among children and adolescents. 

At the same time, undernutrition persists. 
This reflects the same underlying drivers: 
our food systems, our environments, and what is available, affordable, and accessible in everyday life. 

You see this every day— 
in what is sold around schools, 
in cities that do not enable movement, 
and in food environments where unhealthy options are often the easiest choice. 

So yes—prevention is fundamental. 
It must start early, continue across the life course, 
and be built into the systems that shape daily life. 

But we also need to be clear: 
millions are already living with obesity—and need care. 

Taken together, this is what defines the partnerships we now need. 

Let me highlight three priorities.  

First—strengthen prevention at scale. 
This is where the greatest impact lies. 
But prevention only works if it is embedded beyond the health sector— 
in schools, cities, food systems, and fiscal policy.  

Second—shift the incentives. 
As long as unhealthy options are cheaper, more available, and more visible, we will not succeed. 
This requires policy: labelling, marketing restrictions, taxation, reformulation— 
with industry engaged, but within clear rules.