Global hunger and malnutrition are on the rise. Crises such as climate change and increasing global food prices have reversed the success in reducing global hunger, especially in meeting the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger. Approximately 670 million people will still be hungry by 2030. Africa has the highest proportion of people suffering from hunger (20.2%), followed by Asia (9.1%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (8.6%) . COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict further exacerbated the rise in global hunger and malnutrition; 150 million more people were hungry due to COVID-19; while the Ukraine conflict triggered a shortage of about 30 million tons of grains in Africa, along with a sharp increase in cost .
Malnutrition is now on the rise, with 22% of children under the age of 5 years suffering from stunting, while 5.7% are overweight. Many people, especially women and children, are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies, due to poor access to and availability of diverse, healthy diets. Malnutrition in vulnerable populations, such as women and children in the first 1000 days of life, may have intergenerational negative consequences, and in the long term, lead to decreased national productivity, and increased spending on public health care, education and related systems.
Fragmented food systems have led to negative impacts such as inequality in access, availability and distribution of food, especially for the poor and vulnerable. Acute crises and shocks further exacerbate these impacts. The food systems framework presents the multi-dimensional linkages, stakeholders and interactions that must be used to frame the development and design of interventions, both short- and long-term, in order to address food and humanitarian crises . This framework shows us how science-based evidence and data can empower policymakers to adopt and operationalize actions that will affect food supply chains, food environments and consumer behavior towards sustainable healthy diets, so that the multiple targets of the SDGs are met.
Nutrition-sensitive food systems approaches enable practitioners to design and develop people-centric innovations that bring nutrition to the fore. Nutrition-sensitive food systems approaches are context- and culturally-specific, and can be adopted and adapted to meet the multi-faceted challenges to address food and humanitarian crises. Nutrition-sensitive food systems approaches move the narrative from feeding hungry populations to nourishing people; ensuring that the foods consumed not only meet the energy requirements of an individual, but are also diverse, nutritious, safe and healthy. Nutrition-sensitive approaches can be integrated into multiple entry points in the food systems framework, and through pathways such as developing innovations, shaping policies and building capacity.
Short-term actions must be responsive while taking into consideration the need to make decisions with gaps in information availability and risks. It should also be noted that short-term responses may have long-lasting consequences; which may further affect people who are already vulnerable.
In June 2021, a severe drought hit Southern Madagascar, causing the worst case of hunger and malnutrition in the region in the past 40 years. The situation worsened due to COVID-19, and as many of the people in this region are smallholder farmers, whose diets and livelihoods are dependent on their own production. The International Potato Center (CIP), a CGIAR center, together with a donor and partners, put in place a nutrition-sensitive intervention, using orange sweet potatoes, to benefit more than 80,000 households across the nine districts in Southern Madagascar. Orange sweet potatoes complemented the availability of other main staple foods, rice and cassava, and at the same time provided vitamin A, to these communities .
Three drought-resistant, early-maturing varieties of orange sweet potatoes were distributed to farmers, complementing the existing local varieties that were already in cultivation. Stock vines were made readily available in these regions through a decentralized vines multiplier (DVM) system. In addition, ‘community agent pairs’, a woman-man pair of trainers, were engaged to ensure dissemination of stock vines to individual households. These Community Agents (CA) were trained to use digital tools to collect relevant production and household data. Nutrition messaging and cooking demonstrations were also included as part of this intervention, which further empowered the households in these communities to benefit from consuming these orange sweet potato varieties.
The State Government of Odisha, India, in 2021, launched a nutrition strategy to address malnutrition, especially among young children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women. In the strategy, one of the interventions was the use of small fish and fish-based products as nutritious and safe foods. Together with WorldFish, a CGIAR center, solar drying tents were constructed for women self-help groups in coastal communities to produce dried small fish and fish powder, which were then packed and distributed to Anganwadis (child care centers); and used in Take-Home Rations (THR) and Hot Cooked Meals (HCM), in school feeding programs.
The use of solar drying tents greatly reduced the time needed to dry fish; while increasing the nutrient density and improving food safety. When processed into fish powder, the benefits increase. Small fish powder has a long shelf life, at ambient temperature, and can be packaged in different sizes for long-distance transport. Small fish powder can be directly added into cooked dishes; and easily integrated into ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) packages, commonly used in food aid, in response to food crises.
This is an example of how CGIAR, together with partners, delivers impact by shaping and operationalizing nutrition-sensitive policies to improve food and nutrition security. While these policies are developed with a long-term goal, the strategies and innovations, such as small fish powder, can be integrated as immediate solutions to address food crises.
While we cannot always predict the onset of crisis, there are many nutrition-sensitive food systems approaches that can be adopted to build resilience and adaptability in times of shock and disruption. Also, we can combine science-based evidence and nutrition-sensitive training and messaging to build capacity of diverse actors: from governments to communities and households; through multiple entry points of food systems.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns in Bangladesh, CGIAR centers including the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and WorldFish galvanized coordination and research capacities across food systems to respond to the country’s needs. These CGIAR centers implemented the following nutrition-sensitive approaches to secure food systems in Bangladesh :
- Provide advice on relief efforts, including to front liners and food aid agencies, on foods to include in household food aid programs to ensure nutritious and safe diets and long-term food storage.
- Assessment of impacts on small- and medium-scale agribusinesses and advice and support for ways to overcome business disruptions.
- Improve resilience of food supply chains through technical and logistical support for local food production initiatives.
- Developing a platform to collect, monitor and disseminate real-time information of food, labor, inputs and feed supply and prices.
These multidisciplinary approaches, and through engagement of diverse stakeholders, enabled better-coordinated and informed actions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh, as well as global communities, are building forward, these programs should be strengthened, expanded and adapted to build preparedness and capacity of stakeholders before the onset of the next crisis.
While food and humanitarian crises are often unpredictable, many nutrition-sensitive approaches and innovations can be adopted and adapted to secure and build resilient food systems, especially for those who are most vulnerable. Science-based evidence and innovations must be complemented by sound policies and strong capacity building programs to equip diverse actors with nutrition-sensitive food systems approaches. Greater investments in science and capacity building initiatives, especially among first responders and front liners, are needed to address food and humanitarian crises.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Prof. Dr. Joachim von Braun for providing the opportunity and contributions to developing this paper. Ben Wismen and Jan Low are acknowledged for their invaluable contributions in shaping the direction and depth of this paper.
References
Belton, B., Rosen, L., Middleton, L., Ghazali, S., Al-Mamun, A., Shieh, J., ... Thilsted, S.H. (2021). COVID-19 impacts and adaptations in Asia and Africa's aquatic food value chains. Marine Policy.
CGIAR. (2020). Responding to COVID-19: CGIAR's contribution to global response, recovery and resilience. Montpellier: CGIAR System Organization.
Chadag, M. (2022). Inclusion of dried small fish in the ICDS Supplementary Nutrition Programme Pilot Study in Odisha, India. Penang: WorldFish. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10568/125715
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. (2022). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Repurposing food and agriculture policies to make healthy diets more affordable. Rome: FAO.
HLPE. (2017). Nutrition and food systems. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security. Rome: FAO.
International Potato Center (CIP). (2022, May). Sweet Recovery: Tackling vitamin A deficiency and reviving sweetpotato production in drought-affected Southern Madagascar. CIP.
WorldFish. (2021). Harnessing the nourishing potential of aquatic foods in India. Retrieved from https://worldfishcenter.org/blog/harnessing-nourishing-potential-aquatic-foods-india
Yohannes-Kassahun, B. (2023, February). One year later: The impact of the Russian conflict with Ukraine on Africa. Africa Renewal.