partners

Nutrition

Featured story

4 issues that matter in nutrition

Ensuring people have access to healthy food is a complex business. Here's some of today's biggest buzz around nutrition trends.

The nexus of agriculture and nutrition

International efforts to advance food security can benefit from a greater focus on nutrition, argues Fintrac President Claire Starkey. What kind of multipronged approach does she suggest?

We need next-generation hunger fighters

The next generation of entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, policymakers and farmers must find solutions to feeding 9 billion people by 2050. Are you one of them? A guest commentary from the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture’s Julie Borlaug.

Food security and nutrition in Africa’s cities

Food insecurity and malnutrition are spreading rapidly into Africa's cities, but the international development community remains focused on improving rural agriculture. That has to change, writes William Garvelink, a former U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this exclusive guest commentary.

What’s next in addressing malnutrition? Accountability to the promises we've already made

Commitments made at the 2013 Nutrition for Growth summit should mean that at least 500 million pregnant women, as well as children under the age of 2, are reached with effective nutrition interventions by 2020. But to ensure progress, ONE's Anupama Dathan calls for stakeholders to publicize their nutrition efforts in this guest commentary for Devex.

4 steps to lasting food security innovations

Game-changing innovations are needed to meet the world’s growing food needs. But we can start by following a simple four-step approach, James Butcher of Chemonics writes in this guest commentary.

It is high time India stands up for its malnourished children

One-sixth of the world’s children and a third of the world’s undernourished children live in India. The dream of making them healthy in the future is not impossible, the Micronutrient Initiative’s country director writes.

Food justice is about more than food security and nutrition

To ensure global food security and nutrition, we don’t need to produce more food but rather seek fundamental change in the “dysfunctional” food system developed by rich countries. An exclusive commentary for Feeding Development by a trustee and member of the U.K.-based Food Ethics Council.

Businesses that don't think about nutrition face massive risks

Food and beverage companies are increasing their focus on nutrition not only for society, but for their own bottom line. Chris Walker, manager of innovative finance at GAIN, discusses the risks companies face if they ignore nutrition in this video interview.

Change the storyline to get nutrition to ‘stick’

How can we increase the demand for and availability of nutritious foods? Humanitas Global’s Nabeeha Kazi shares tips in this guest commentary.

Food security: 3 major private sector approaches

No one single organization or sector can solve global hunger, but the private sector has provided great leadership in the areas of nutrition and food security, writes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Kara Valikai.

How to ‘sell’ nutrition

The private sector has a vital role to play in nutrition messaging. How? We asked ACDI/VOCA's senior technical director for nutrition.

Measuring Impact: What makes it harder for nutrition?

Last year, the U.K. aid agency committed to triple spending on child malnutrition, but measuring the impact of these programs is easier said than done. DfID’s Anne Philpott discusses several challenges.

Roger Thurow: Global malnutrition is a challenge to the worldwide economy

Fighting hunger is not enough to achieve food security (and long-term economic development) if we don’t also tackle problems like micronutrient deficiencies that lead to stunting. Find out more in this video interview for Feeding Development.

Nutritional intake patterns: Implications for food security?

Urbanization, sedentary lifestyles and the availability of cheap processed food have sparked a shift from undernourishment to malnutrition in the developing world. In this commentary, two experts from Nottingham Trent University discuss how to tackle the problem.

How the EU stepped up its game on nutrition

The 2008 global food price crisis was a shock to everyone — including the European Union, which took notice and since then has become a leading voice in pushing for sustainable and equitable food security for all. A guest opinion by the EU’s top food security official.

5 ways to deliver nutrition through cash crop standards

Cash crops have relatively low nutritional value, but the agricultural system around them can be a perfect delivery channel for nutrition interventions. Mieke van Reenen from GAIN explains how.

Let's change the food security conversation on aquaculture

In the global conversation on food security, fish and aquaculture are often mentioned only in passing. Why, and what can we do to change that? WorldFish Director General Stephen Hall explains in this Google Hangout.

The UK's food security champion: We must tackle demand

Producing more food won't solve global hunger unless we begin to look at nutrition as a challenge that requires agriculturalists, economists and environmentalists to talk to each other, says Tim Benton, an official “champion” for the U.K.’s Global Food Security program.

From food aid to nutritious, locally produced food: A look at fortifying flour in Ethiopia

A growing milling business to produce fortified flour in Ethiopia has the potential to positively impact the health of thousands of people and the strength of the country's economy. A guest commentary from Partners in Food Solutions CEO Jeff Dykstra.

Nutrition and health: The opportunity cost of opportunities lost

We all want children to survive, but simply surviving is not enough — they must thrive as well. A guest commentary by Joel Spicer, president of the Micronutrient Initiative, on why access to nutritious food must be "the starting point" of any effective health system.

Food security and nutrition – two sides of the same coin

When done right, food security programs can result in improved nutrition. How? World Vision International’s Thabani Maphosa shares her insights.

1,000 Days: Why improving nutrition leads to long-term economic growth

Improving the nutrition of women and young children is not just a humanitarian issue. What are the long-term benefits? Find out in this Devex Impact video interview with 1,000 Days Campaign Director Adrianna Localbo.

Want to work in food security? Here are 6 career paths

Food security both impacts and is impacted by all facets of global development work, from climate change to land rights and supply chains to nutrition. If you want to work on food security issues, there are many ways you can get involved, including some that may surprise you.

5 lessons about school meals

School meals are one of the most affordable ways to break the cycle of poverty and hunger. But food alone is not enough and a broad set of partnerships is also required as part of the recipe for success, argues Allan Jury, a senior advisor from World Food Program USA.

How nutrition data can help predict food insecurity risk

Undernutrition may determine the risk of people to food insecurity. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network is looking to better understand this link, according to nutrition adviser Christine McDonald.

Will the real Africa please stand up?

Africa's future is caught up in two competing narratives, and which one of them wins out depends on choices that can be made — or not — today. A guest commentary from Thomas Jayne, Jordan Chamberlin and Lulama Ndibongo Traub.

Beyond access to nutritious food: Why behavior change should be a priority for donors

Health outcomes improve when families are exposed to nutrition specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. How? Ilisa Gertner and Andrew Johnson explain in this guest commentary.

The case for food fortification

When delivered through smart investments, food fortification can be a powerful tool in the fight against diseases caused by micronutrient deficiencies and developmental stunting, writes Greg Garrett, director of large-scale food fortification at GAIN.

Nutrition for the next generation

Will talks on the economic impact of undernutrition be on the agenda at next week's U.S.-Africa Summit in Washington, D.C.? Lawrence Haddad argues for an urgent data revolution in nutrition to put the issue front and center.

5 things you may not know about edible insects

What's for dinner? If you're interested in cooking insects — and perhaps doing a small part in boosting food security around the world — check out this slideshow and noteworthy trivia.

Why nutrition-smart agriculture matters

It is not enough to be nutrition-sensitive. Basic food systems need to be optimized to provide the greatest amount of nutrients per square foot that can be produced sustainably, HarvestPlus Director Howard Bouis writes in this guest commentary.

Must Reads

Report

Understanding Micronutrient Food Fortification

Food fortification has been practiced in the developed world for centuries, and has eradicated certain diseases. Fortification of staple foods in the developing world is improving nutrient intake for families who cannot afford a diverse diet.

Report

Nestlé in the United States: Creating Shared Value Report 2013

Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company in the U.S. – you'll find one of it's products in 97 percent of American households – and its mission is to lead the industry in creating a more sustainable, healthy future for society. In its CSV report, Nestlé commits to specific sustainability targets and reports on progress to date in categories including rural development, responsible sourcing, nutrition, water, environmental impact and social impact.

Story

Nutritious Vegetable Production in Bangladesh Improves Family Health and Earns Income

Learn more about Rahima Begum, a Bangaldeshi woman who is using her small plot of land to feed her family nutritious vegetables and gain more income. She is a participant of the Program for Strengthening Household Access to Resources (PROSHAR), a USAID-funded program implemented by ACDI/VOCA and Project Concern International.

Buzz

Eight myths about malnutrition

Malnutrition has been largely ignored by the international community in discussing the world’s most pressing issues. These 8 myth-busting facts aim to raise awareness and help end its devastating impact across the world.

Video

Women and Girls in Honduras

Watch this five-minute film by ONE.org that features actresses America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel. The video captures their visit to Honduras to see how women and girls in Latin America are fighting poverty and malnutrition with help from an innovative program implemented by Fintrac.

Article

Nutrition and the new sustainable development goals

Multi-stakeholder partnerships should be a cornerstone of the post-2015 development framework if we are to tackle malnutrition globally.
Fact Sheets

Nutrition Learning Agenda

In recognition of the relationship between nutrition, agricultural science, and market forces, the development community is moving toward increasingly integrated value chain development programming. These fact sheets are part of ACDI/VOCA’s ongoing learning agenda and are designed to be a practical and informative resource for staff on the nutritional value of crops and on leverage points within the value chains for maximizing nutritional impact.

Article

A New View of Nutrition

FEWS NET is using nutritional analysis to explain the broader context of food security, particularly the underlying causes of and relationships between acute and chronic food insecurity. A more detailed understanding of these causes and relationships could inform longer-term development solutions to food security.

Article

What does women's empowerment have to do with nutrition?

What does women's empowerment have to do with nutrition? Women are clearly the most critical target group from a nutrition standpoint, and central to food and nutrition security.

Latest tweets #feedingdev

Cover photo by: ACDI/VOCA