Bilateral meeting with H.E. Víctor Elias Atallah Lajam, Minister for Public Health and Social Assistance of the Dominican Republic

Rome – On the sidelines of the Rome Nutrition Week 2026, FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met today with the Minister for Public Health and Social Assistance of the Dominican Republic, H.E. Víctor Elias Atallah Lajam, at the Organization’s headquarters.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister, congratulated him on his recent election as President of the 79th World Health Assembly, and praised the fruitful and ongoing collaboration between the Dominican Republic, a founding member of FAO, and the Organization. Qu referred to the essence of FAO as a member-owned and member-led organization and elaborated on its increasing technical strengths and evolving work dynamics.

The Minister thanked the Director-General, emphasizing the Dominican Republic’s unwavering commitment to food security and nutrition, and conveyed that President Luis Abinader had prioritized ending hunger as a leading goal of his administration. The Minister commended FAO’s work in the field and referenced a number of high-level government initiatives in which FAO has been a key partner, including the cross-sectoral priority goal of achieving “Zero Hunger by 2028”, pursuant to which undernourishment in the country had decreased as a result of public policies implemented to strengthen national production, guarantee supply stability, and expand access to nutritious and sufficient food. By the same token, the Minister underscored the collaboration with FAO in areas ranging from the school feeding programme to the prevention and reduction of overweight and obesity, front-of-package warning labeling, and more.

Moreover, the Minister shared the country’s vision of nutrition as a fundamental element for health prevention. He then thanked the Director-General for FAO’s role in facilitating interinstitutional coordination among key actors in the country’s National Strategy for Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security. The Minister finally reiterated to the Director-General that the Dominican Republic had intensified efforts to exit the Hunger Map in the near future, following in the footsteps of other Latin American countries, as well as to cement its standing as a regional leader in good practices.

The Director-General thanked Minister Atallah, commended the government's political will, and confirmed FAO's readiness to continue and scale up its work with the Dominican Republic in line with the Organization's mandate and the country's priorities.