Micronutrient deficiencies are a leading cause of intellectual disability in children, preventable blindness in children, and maternal death during childbirth. They can limit a person’s ability to learn, earn a living, or live a healthy life. These debilitating consequences damage whole communities, as well as economies.
Too often we stop at “you are the future” and of course that is true, but whether a high school student or an early career professional, these young people are the present. They have tools like social media to mobilise and organise and speak out, they have computer literacy to design apps that can promote accountability and transparency, they have an ability to multitask and they have numbers.
Dairy consumption is a much debated topic among nutritionists. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends reducing saturated fats to less than 10 percent of total energy intake and reducing trans-fats to less than 1 percent of total energy intake. A study published this month in the leading medical journal The Lancet casts doubt on the epidemiological evidence base for discouraging dairy consumption.
We at GAIN like to think of ourselves as a learning organisation and I invited our staff to tell us about the standout thing from 2018 that they were reading that had meaning for their work, and to tell us why they chose it. Twenty-five of them responded and here are their contributions. Like our staff the selections embrace diversity. Enjoy, and keep being curious!
The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro provided a platform for raising the issues of malnutrition and hunger. Here are some of the highlights.
My warm thanks to the hundreds of you who have sent me messages of congratulations about my recent appointment to the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). So, why did I decide to apply for the GAIN Executive Director position and why did I accept the Board’s offer to join? (I begin on October 1).
The world is rapidly urbanising. By 2050, two thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. This has major consequences for peoples’ diets. Cities now face the double burden of malnutrition: micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition (overweight and obesity).
On 11 July 2017, Lawrence Haddad, GAIN’s Executive Director, attended the UK Nutrition Society meetings in London. His presentation focused on challenges and opportunities for urban nutrition in low and middle income countries.