Food safety is central to GAIN’s large-scale food fortification program, in terms of quality assurance and in building government and industry capacity to implement food safety systems, testing and risk mitigation plans.

GAIN’s supply chain interventions have provided food safety-related training, technologies and mentorship to SMEs along various supply chains. The launch of the Nourishing Foods Financing Facility (N3F) in 2024 adds important financial support to this work with SMEs.

Through the Dutch 3.0 work in Kenya, GAIN is promoting the adoption of Kenya Standard 1758 with its focus on food safety, through its ‘Vegetables for All’ program and creation of FitFood Zones (FFZs).

GAIN’s largest food safety programme is EatSafe (Evidence and Action Towards Safe, and Nutritious Food), funded by USAID under the Feed the Future initiative. The programme is generating evidence into how food safety in traditional markets can be improved, through stimulating behaviour change and creating consumer demand for safer foods. Work has been conducted in northwest Nigeria and Central Ethiopia.

GAIN has made significant contributions to national and international policy efforts. In Nigeria, GAIN has provided technical assistance in refining the draft Food Safety and Quality Bill to include specific food safety measures for traditional markets. This input helped it through the legislative process. It now awaits presidential assent.

GAIN Ethiopia is working with the federal government on the development of food safety standards in traditional markets as part of its Food Systems Transformation Pathway.

The development of food safety standards is also being supported at the global level, with GAIN’s involvement in the development of food safety guidelines for traditional markets under the Codex Committee for Food Hygiene.

Foodborne diseases are considered a neglected but tractable problem – quality data and insights help inform, and guide efforts to improve food safety. GAIN was successful in lobbying for food safety indicators to be included in the Food Systems Dashboard – there are currently 4 food safety indicators. There has also been much effort in knowledge management and mobilization around food safety, including the publishing of over 20 papers in scientific journals in the last few years.

GAIN is also generating evidence to understand the impact of food safety work. For example, GAIN India is working with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to establish ‘Safe Street Food Vendors Hubs’. In addition to helping develop the training toolkit, GAIN is evaluating the pilot project and making recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and FSSAI on the expansion of the initiative to other states. 

With food safety being a new cross-cutting theme at GAIN, three different approaches are being taken to integrate and grow the food safety portfolio.

1. Programming: Strengthen existing food safety work in GAIN’s food system programmes while generating evidence and disseminating findings for continual improvement & greater impact.
2. Policy and Advocacy: Advocate for improved food safety, with a focus on the informal sectors of LMICs, leveraging global guidelines and metrics, as well as supporting country policy efforts.
3. Addressing gaps: Identify needs and develop impactful, attractive investment opportunities that address food safety gaps within the informal sector for future partnerships with donors, businesses, and governments.

Direct technical support is being prioritised to key portfolios such as Nourishing Food Pathways and CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and ResiliencE (CASCADE) to ensure that gender is effectively considered through the project lifecycle.

Standardised tools and metrics that are being developed to facilitate and broaden support across all GAIN projects to help ensure gender is considered throughout the project lifecycle. This includes tools to facilitate the substantive integration of gender into activities, evaluation, and tracking impact.

Strategic Focus:

Resources: GAIN produces knowledge products such as working papers to disseminate findings and lessons learned in gender mainstreaming. Examples include "Impact of Gender Norms on Children’s Diets" and "Integrating Gender into the Governance of Urban Food Systems for Improved Nutrition." Further resources include case studies like "Choosing to Challenge Gender Inequality in Pakistan." As new tools come on line, they will be documented

Safeguarding the vulnerable is a core behaviour at GAIN, expected from all staff. To identify and tackle gender biases, GAIN has recently updated and implemented various internal policies, such as the .

The Workplace Gender Equity and Diversity Policy addresses all aspects involving staff recruitment, promotion, management, training, career development, and accountability. It prohibits discrimination against individuals based on age, gender, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy, maternity, family responsibilities, political beliefs, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Code of Conduct underpins ethical behaviour across all areas.

The Director of Strategic Operations and Head of Human Resources manage, supervise, and update all internal processes and policies.

GAIN has improved its performance on gender equity in the workplace and has been categorised as a high performer by the Global Health 5050 Report 2022 and the Global Health Report 2023 which analyses the gender policy position of almost 200 organisations that influence global health and scores them according to the depth of their commitment. This Programmatic Gender Strategy complements our internal policies, ensuring that GAIN’s commitment to gender equity is visible both within and outside the organisation.