Since the Covid-19 pandemic and associated control measures began affecting food systems around the world, many of us who care about nutrition and livelihoods have been thinking anxiously about food prices: would they be affected? If so, how badly, for which foods, and for how long? Food prices are important for several reasons.
"Biblical". That was the word that the world’s press needed to (finally) run stories about the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on food and nutrition. Thank you to the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, for the turn of phrase.
In a commendable move to combat the effects of COVID-19, the Government of Bangladesh has announced a bailout package to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by partially covering their interest payments for the current fiscal year until 30th June 2020. But the eventual impact of COVID19 pandemic and its potentially devastating impact on food systems, especially on the SMEs that are the backbone of food supplies.
Seizing an opportunity to provide the nutritious foods needed to help keep people healthy during a pandemic came naturally to Rani, who is used to seeing potential where others might miss it. Living in Sukabumi, Rani and her mother, Imelda, established in 2012 a small business processing fish and vegetables into healthy snacks.
With the spread of COVID-19 we find ourselves plunged into a global health crisis. By most accounts we are only at the early stages of the pandemic so it is going to reshape economy, society and politics, probably permanently.
Today marks International Women’s Day – an occasion to reflect on the contributions of women worldwide and, for GAIN, to reflect on how we are working to engage and empower women through our work. Over the past decade, there has been growing focus on empowering women in agriculture - and with good reason. Women’s participation in agriculture varies by region, but in many African countries, women make up close to half of the agricultural labour force.
The latest nutrition data out of Bangladesh describe a situation brimming with promise. The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017/2018 estimates stunting at 31% and the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 shows an even lower estimate of 28%.
The clock is ticking. We are just 10 short months from the Nutrition for Growth Summit (N4G) in Japan in mid-December. Many people are working hard with the Government of Japan and partners, allies and colleagues to energise the nutrition base - and beyond - about the Summit and to develop commitments that will accelerate improvements in nutrition.
We use dietary intake surveys of what people eat a lot. They are needed to support the design, monitoring, and evaluation of food-based nutrition programmes that aim to improve dietary adequacy in populations. In a world where over one third of people have unhealthy diets, getting this right matters.
This month GAIN organised an event, in partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN) and the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, on urbanisation and nutrition. While there have been some voices calling for these two issues to come together, this has not really happened, although things now seem to be changing.
