Search

Begin New Search Topic Nutrition

1. Ending Hunger and Advancing Nutrition: Lived Experience Perspectives

Author:
Gloria Dabek, Samanta Dunford, Priya Fielding-Singh, and Peggy Tsai Yih
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:
Today, soaring costs of living and spiraling inflation have made accessing and affording healthy food a challenge for many Americans. In June 2022, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs partnered with World Central Kitchen and Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute to conduct listening sessions in three locations across the country to inform policy recommendations for the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The sessions focused on learning directly from individuals with lived experiences of hunger and food insecurity to explicitly center and prioritize their voices and perspectives in policy conversations. This brief presents key learnings from the listening sessions and connects them with seven actionable policy recommendations. These recommendations include: Addressing root causes of hunger; Better coordinating federal resources; Reducing barriers to federal assistance; Adding federal benefits to address current challenges; Increasing affordability and availability of fresh fruits and vegetables; Improving food recovery; Supporting communities with targeted food assistance. Underlying all of these recommendations is the understanding that hunger, nutrition, and health issues are deeply intertwined with several key environmental and social determinants—including but not limited to poverty, structural racism, housing, healthcare, economic security, education, and transportation—that help drive significant disparities in individuals’, families’, and communities’ experiences of food insecurity, nutrition, and diet-related diseases.
Topic:
Food Security, Hunger, Nutrition, and Cost of Living
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

2. The 2022 Humanitarian Crisis in Karamoja, Uganda: A real-time review

Author:
Raphael Lotira Arasio and Adrian Cullis
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This real-time review aims to document the events that led to Karamoja’s hunger crisis in 2022, the reporting of the worsening situation by early warning systems, and the responses of the Government of Uganda and the international aid community. The review took place from the September 27–October 21, 2022.
Topic:
Food Security, Pastoralism, Resilience, Nutrition, Early Warning, and Malnutrition
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

3. Centering Global Food Security for Global Prosperity

Author:
Catherine Bertini and Ertharin Cousin
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:
The new Biden Administration will face global crises on multiple fronts. COVID-19, coupled with conflict and escalating climate disasters, is leading to one of the most disastrous humanitarian and hunger crises in the last century. In the past decade, previous Administrations have demonstrated the value and impact of food security and nutrition security programs for alleviating hunger and malnutrition and for reducing the threat of conflict and governmental instability. As a result of targeted and thoughtful assistance, there are 23.4 million more people today who live above the poverty line and 3.4 million more children are free from stunting. More than 5 million families now live free from hunger and billions of dollars in agricultural sales have been generated. The Biden Administration has the opportunity to build on a strong foundation of work. To strengthen this programming in the next decade, key considerations should include: Creating a more resilient and healthful food system that is capable of absorbing shocks and stressors. Systems thinking—especially the integration of food, nutrition, health, climate, and agriculture—can drive sustainable outcomes. Building inclusive partnerships from the beginning to create sustainable and resilient communities. Investing in agricultural economies beyond US borders should be understood as an investment in critical infrastructure that stretches back to our own heartland.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Food, Hunger, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
North America and Global Focus

4. Seeing in the Dark: Real-Time Monitoring in Humanitarian Crises

Author:
Daniel Maxwell, Erin Lentz, Kamau Wanjohi, Daniel Molla, Matthew Day, Peter Hailey, Christopher Newton, and Anna Colom
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
Humanitarian information systems typically provide analysis to predict crisis, assess needs, direct program resources, and assess short- to medium-term effects of programs. But much of this information is “chunky”—a single estimate of “needs,” for example, can be expected to direct resources and programming for up to a full year (IASC 2020). A single early warning scenario might be expected to provide information about potential hazards and the exposure of population to the ill-effects of that hazard for three to four months. And almost by definition, early warning analyses are grounded in known and likely hazards, “population in need” (PIN) figures are based on the impacts of known shocks, and program resources are (or should be) allocated on the basis of known and projected PIN figures. There have long been questions about the timeliness of humanitarian information and especially about the extent to which information initiates appropriate and timely actions (Buchanan-Smith and Davies 1995; Bailey 2012; Lentz et al. 2020). And there have always been concerns that circumstances can change in shorter time periods than standard humanitarian analysis procedures can pick up, so interest in real-time monitoring (RTM) as a component of humanitarian information systems has increased for at least the past decade or so (FSNAU 2015).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, Famine, Food Security, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, Somalia, Malawi, South Sudan, and Africa

5. Climate Change and Food Security – Golden Rice: Triumph for Science

Author:
Paul Teng
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
After almost two decades, Golden Rice was approved last week by the Philippines authorities for use as food. This together with the approval of the bioengineered Bt eggplant represents a landmark victory of science over misinformation; it will provide consumers with improved nutrition (Golden Rice) and safer food (Bt eggplant).
Topic:
Agriculture, Food, Food Security, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Asia and Philippines

6. Climate Change and the Global South: The Case of Africa

Author:
Agnes Babugura
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:
Should climate change continue unaddressed, it is estimated that of the additional 30–170 million people who are likely to suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition globally in the coming years, three-quarters will be in Africa.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Poverty, Inequality, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Africa

7. School feeding programmes, education and food security in rural Malawi

Author:
Roxana Elena Manea
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:
Existing investigations of the impact of school feeding programmes on educational out- comes have provided mixed evidence of success. In this chapter, I investigate a potential explanation for this lack of consensus in the literature. I argue that the prevailing food security situation at the time and place of the programme's evaluation plays a major role. I study the case of rural Malawi. I use an instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching to estimate the impact of school feeding on primary school enrolment and retention rates. I focus on villages with overlapping characteristics. I estimate that school feeding has increased enrolments by 7 percentage points on average, but the im- pact on retention rates has been relatively limited. However, when I distinguish between food-secure and food-insecure areas, not only do I finnd a larger impact on enrolments in food-insecure areas, but I also uncover a significant increase of around 2 percentage points in the retention rate of students in these same areas. Across the board, impacts are not significant in food-secure areas. I conclude that school feeding programmes bear an impact on education as long as they also intervene to relax a binding food constraint.
Topic:
Development, Education, Government, Food, Food Security, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Malawi

8. Experiences of Frontline Workers in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:
Accountability Initiative
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
This study examines the evolving role and experiences of Frontline Workers (FLWs) during and after the nation-wide lockdown in 2020. The findings provide insights into how FLWs shouldered additional responsibilities, how they have adapted to the disruption of routine health and nutrition related services, and how they have initiated creative responses to help the system adapt to the ‘new normal’.
Topic:
Health, Public Policy, COVID-19, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

9. Nutrition Policy Primer: The Untapped Path to Global Health, Economic Growth, and Human Security

Author:
Amy R. Beaudreault
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
This policy primer on global nutrition outlines its role as a foundation for lifelong health, economic growth, and political stability and underscores the critical contribution of U.S. funding. The primer serves as a global nutrition 101 for policymakers with key terms, interventions, and target cohorts and a landscape overview of the priority issues in global nutrition, important players, and the U.S. government’s investments. The primer also identifies critical gaps including a $70 billion global funding gap toward the World Health Assembly’s stunting, anemia, exclusive breastfeeding, and wasting goals; data gaps in how best to reach adolescent girls during a critical growth period; and the lack of transparency of U.S. government nutrition investments and impact. The primer sets forth a proposal to increase the annual U.S. investment with specific ideas for how those additional resources can have impact programmatically and operationally, as well as in filling knowledge gaps.
Topic:
Food, Food Security, Humanitarian Crisis, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. Implementing the Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN-2): A 3M Governance Framework

Author:
Shanawez Hossain and Hasan Zaman
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Bangladesh made significant progress in improving the nutritional status of its people in recent years. However, rates of malnutrition in Bangladesh are still among the highest in the world; thus, the government has stepped up the implementation of its nutrition agenda and efforts to achieve its nutrition targets. The last Global Nutrition Report (GNR 2018) highlighted Bangladesh’s success as a result of the state-level nutrition-related policy commitments and efforts (Development Initiatives 2018). The GNR 2018 indicated Bangladesh’s achievements since 2010 in education, children, health, nutrition, and population, including measures in adolescent development, especially adolescent girls. The preceding GNR (2017) reported that the Government of Bangladesh had met its Nutrition for Growth (N4G) policy commitments (Development Initiatives 2017). Bangladesh recorded significant achievements under the N4G policy commitments through adopting the National Nutrition Policy (NNP) 2015 and National Strategy for Micronutrient Deficiency Control (ibid). The objective of this paper is to recommend ways to “jump-start” the collaborative process needed to translate the 3M approach into reality, using the NPG model.
Topic:
Development, Governance, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia