nutrition security

This report by IDS identifies opportunities and constraints as well as key factors either fostering Multi-level Advocacy (MLA) or explaining its absence, in situations of high levels of malnutrition. This report contributes to debates about how to build both momentum and action for nutrition through advocacy and other means and, more generally, to the literature on policy advocacy in developing countries. »

This report by PROIntenseAfrica provides advice on and prospects of the sustainable intensification of the value chains of different fruits and vegetables in Ethiopia and the potential impacts on the various stakeholders. There is growing recognition of the emergence of a “triple burden” of malnutrition with hunger, overconsumption, and micronutrient deficiency (“hidden hunger”) occurring simultaneously among low-income countries. »

This report by IFPRI dealt with opportunities for making Africa’s food system deliver healthier and more nutritious, making these foods more available and affordable to all people, and promoting better food consumption patterns as African economies develop. This is an important moment for shaping the region’s future and ensuring that the much-needed agriculture-led growth and development agenda can simultaneously deliver on improving nutrition, saving lives, improving productivity and health, and curbing nutrition-related diseases and the associated public health expenditures. »

This note by GFRAS argues that it is important to include men in nutrition initiatives to turn around food discrimination. Women may learn a lot from courses on good nutrition, but excluding men means that women may not be able to act on their improved knowledge. Men may feel angry because their own nutritional needs are ignored. »

This article elaborates on the effects of pro-vitamin A maize on the visual functions in children in Zambia. With a randomized research trial the researchers found that children who ate “orange maize” showed improved night vision within six months. Their eyes adapted better in the dark, improving their ability to engage in optical day-to-day activities under dim light. Impairment of the eyes’ ability to adapt to low-light conditions is one of the few measurable signs of vitamin A deficiency at its initial stages. »

This study in the Journal of Development Effectiveness quantifies the impact and cost-effectiveness of training poor rural women in Bangladesh in home gardening and nutrition. It was found that the intervention significantly increased vegetable production, vegetable consumption and the micronutrient supply from the garden. »