Malnutrition remains a scourge in all regions of the world. More than 3.1 billion people — 42% of the global population — cannot afford a healthy diet, and the world is not on track to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2 to achieve zero hunger.
Unhealthy diets underpin many critical public health challenges, including undernutrition, overweight, obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. The state of global diets and nutrition has worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, endemic food price inflation, conflicts, and more frequent extreme weather events due to climate change.
It is widely understood that malnutrition is holding communities back — from escaping poverty, from increasing their productivity, and from leading healthy lives. Following on the heels of the 2024 Health Financing Forum hosted by the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Global Financing Facility on investing in health in the post-COVID era, this event — produced by Devex in partnership with CGIAR and IFPRI — will convene nutrition and climate experts to discuss the vital role of healthy diets; showcase a suite of proven solutions across the agrifood value chain for improving diets in low- and middle-income countries; and examine how best to scale these solutions so that everyone can reap the benefits of sustainable healthy diets.
Opening remarks
Fireside chat: The importance of healthy and sustainable diets
• Henrietta H. Fore, former Executive Director of UNICEF, former USAID Administrator and CEO & Chairman, Holsman International
• Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR
Devex interviewer:
• Kate Warren, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Devex
Panel conversation: Transforming food systems for improved nutrition and sustainability
• Robert Bertram, Chief scientist, USAID
• Geeta Sethi, Advisor and global lead for food systems, World Bank
• Purnima Menon, Senior director for food and nutrition policy, IFPRI and CGIAR
• Matthias Berninger, Executive vice president, public affairs, science, sustainability, and HSE, Bayer AG
• Katherine Meighan, Associate vice president and general counsel at the International Fund for Agricultural Development
Devex interviewer:
• Kate Warren, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Devex
Audience Q&A
Firestarter:
• Tambra Stevenson, Founder and CEO, WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture
Led by Devex interviewer:
• Kate Warren, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Devex
Closing remarks
• Johan Swinnen, Director general at IFPRI, and managing director of systems transformation at CGIAR
Networking Lunch