Leveraging One Health to Tackle Overlooked Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Southeast Asia

Despite reductions in hunger, Southeast Asia faces a rising triple burden of malnutrition – stunting and wasting, hidden hunger, and overweight and obesity – compounded by food-feed competition and fragmented policy responses. Nutrition insecurity is exacerbated by the insufficient integration of nutrition within broader food security initiatives. The One Health approach provides a framework for sustainable, action-oriented solutions by linking crop/plant and livestock production, animal and human health, and environmental wellbeing. ASEAN countries have demonstrated strong commitment and collective action toward ending global hunger, malnutrition, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases while strengthening food and nutrition security. However, nutrition has yet to be fully integrated into the mainstream agenda, including within the ASEAN OH JPA. This brief provides recommendations for ASEAN Member States (AMS) to address the triple burden of malnutrition through the One Health approach by transforming governance, multisectoral coordination, and knowledge systems.