 Before we take our first breath, our journey of life begins. Access to diverse and nutritious diets put us on the path to a healthy and productive life and gives us the chance to reach our full potential. But in Asia and the Pacific, this remains out of reach for far too many people. The high prices of nutrient-rich foods and a range of other barriers is preventing nearly two billion people from accessing the healthy diets they need to thrive. With their high nutritional needs, mothers and children are most at risk. Before COVID-19, 75 million children under five were stunted and 30 million suffered from wasting, most of them in Southern Asia. While the true impacts of the pandemic on food security and nutrition are yet to be fully understood, it is clear that the livelihoods of the most vulnerable have been hit hard, placing greater pressure on families to find more affordable food. If we do not act now to curb the destructive forces of the pandemic, seven million more children across the region could become malnourished. Sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems that are available to all is key to counter the negative impact of COVID-19, and we can do this through a bold response across multiple systems focusing on mothers and children. By improving the efficiency and productivity of how we get our essential foods to market, we can make healthy diets more affordable for everyone. With government action and private sector partnership, we can support the transformation of our food systems ensuring better, more affordable dietary choices for all. By promoting hygienic environments for food handling and preparation, we can ensure nutritious foods are properly cooked for vitamin absorption and equip mothers and children with good hygiene practices for healthy nutrition. By strengthening and prioritising health services and nutritional counselling, we can supply essential services to prevent and treat under nutrition. By investing in social protection systems and subsidising household incomes through cash transfers, we can prevent the most vulnerable families from slipping further into poverty and hunger. By providing nutritious school meals, we can ensure the most vulnerable students have access to good nutrition and establish lifelong positive dietary habits and healthy lifestyles. Working together, we can improve nutrition for those who need it most. Building healthier and happier lives, more resilient families and communities and placing millions more on the path to achieving their full potential. Achieving a hunger-free world and the sustainable development goals is possible but it is up to us to act now.