Global, Global
The world's farmers produce enough food to feed more than the global population yet, hunger persists. Up to 783 million people face hunger due to conflict, repeated weather shocks and economic downturns. This impacts the poor and vulnerable most severely, many of whom are agricultural households, reflecting widening inequalities across and within countries.Implementing the World Health Assembly Resolution for Food Fortification
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a significant public health problem, affecting 1 in 2 children and 2 in 3 women of reproductive age worldwide. The impacts can be severe, including birth defects of the brain and spine, death in childbirth, childhood blindness, and compromised immune systems. Large Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) is a key part of the solution as the intervention best suited to tackle this enormous challenge at scale.
LSFF is the addition of vitamins and minerals to widely consumed foods and condiments to increase their nutritional value. Food fortification is still underutilised in many of the countries suffering the worst effects of malnutrition. That is why the World Health Assembly took action in 2023, passing a landmark resolution calling for accelerated efforts to advance food fortification and prevent micronutrient deficiencies.
We are left with five years to redouble our efforts to achieve Goal 2 of the U.N. Sustainable Development Agenda's target of ending malnutrition by 2030.
These briefs introduce the crisis of micronutrient malnutrition, present food fortification as a safe and cost effective part of the solution, and share steps to accelerate the impact of food fortification in response to the recent World Health Assembly resolution.
They are suitable for sharing with government officials and private sector leaders. They can also be used in outreach to local stakeholders.
Large-Scale Food Fortification is a Safe and Cost-Effective Strategy to Improve Nutrition
On May 29th, 2023, the World Health Assembly unanimously approved the resolution “Accelerating efforts for preventing micronutrient deficiencies and their consequences, including spina bifida and other neural tube defects, through safe and effective food fortification”.
This resolution became decision WHA76.19.
Decision WHA76.19 requests the WHO Director General to provide guidance, standards, and technical support to Member States as they pursue the use of food fortification and other interventions to combat micronutrient malnutrition.
Ministries of Health should be encouraged to update WHO on steps their country has taken to implement this resolution. Updates will be included in the Director General’s reports to the WHA in 2026, 2028, and 2030.
In the lead up to the 76th WHA, over 70 civil society organizations urged support for the food fortification resolution, representing the medical community, families impacted by Spina Bifida, advocacy groups, and development organizations, among others.
This 3-minute introduction to Food Fortification is suitable for sharing with government officials, private sector representatives, or coalition partners. The video is available in English and Amharic and subtitled in Amharic, Bangla, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Swahili, and Urdu. Find the playlist here
The Global Fortification Data Exchange provides all the data necessary to track global progress on food fortification, and to enable decision makers to use data to improve the quality of national fortification programs.
This communication guide contains tips for talking about food fortification to government officials, potential allies, and other audiences. It is a great resource to help advocates prepare for meetings and presentations.
Senior Advocacy Specialist
Communications Director for the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI)
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8th every year.
IWD is a global event dedicated to recognising the achievements of women across various fields, promoting gender equality, and raising awareness about the challenges women continue to face worldwide.
It has been consistently celebrated by numerous organisations, governments, and communities around the globe, including GAIN.
It serves as a celebration of achievements but also a call for action, IWD encourages individuals, organisations, and governments to take concrete steps towards addressing these gender disparity issues.
This year's theme "Invest in women: Accelerate progress #InspireInclusion" means not only empowering women to break through barriers but also to accelerate progress for all, creating a world of inclusive growth, shared success, and equity.
In this Interview Cruncher, we address the specific challenges faced by women and girls within food systems, exploring how these imbalances contribute to health inequities, unhealthy diets, and malnutrition risks. We'll examine the urgency of addressing these issues in light of missed SDG targets and the role of human rights in fostering equality.
Discussion covers the magnitude of the problem, including global trends and policy implications for equity. We explore the holistic solutions from a human rights perspective, focusing on support strategies for women and girls, the importance of data and behavioral change, and strategies for transforming food systems to enhance economic opportunities, food security, and equitable access to healthy diets globally.
Strengthening and equipping women-led businesses and entrepreneurs is a cornerstone of GAIN's gender work. Ensuring support, technical work and empowerment at at the centre of our work, below we present profiles of successful women who have been part of the work of the SUN Business Network.
View business as more than just profit-making; it's a journey of continuous learning and growth. Invest in upgrading your products, and services and expanding your network.
Seize every opportunity to talk about your work and its impact on the community. Remain consistent in what you are doing and do it to your very best by learning and unlearning till your brand speaks for itself.
Women entrepreneurs should emphasise their business narrative, engage in mentorship, collaborate with similar organizations, and showcase women's unique strengths.
SBN's trainings are very impactful, and I've taken part in all of them. It's hard for me to single one out because they are all interconnected and, in my view, they complement each other and have helped me to have a much broader vision of my business.
CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and ResiliencE (CASCADE) is a Dutch-funded project whose goal is to improve food security and contribute to the reduction of malnutrition of at least 5 million women of reproductive age and children under five in Benin, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Leads of CASCADE share how the programme is empowering women.
Joana Celestina is a vendor at the central market in Mozambique: "After losing my husband, and with a family to look after, I had to wipe away my tears and battle to provide for my family. I realised I needed to be the breadwinner of the family, and I became a vendor at the Munhava Market in Beira city".
- Global
World-over, the first week of August is observed as ‘Breastfeeding Week’. This global campaign aims to raise awareness about breastfeeding and its advantages. World Breastfeeding Week, coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), revolves around strengthening the capacity of actors that protect, promote and support breastfeeding across different levels of society.
- Baku, Azerbaijan, Global
The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29) will convene in November 2024. The summit is held by the United Nations as a way to bring diplomats, heads of state and climate advocates together to form an international response to climate change. COP29 will be GAIN's fourth COP, and our second as an accredited NGO.
- 13/12/2023
Food systems are a foundation of human and planetary well-being and central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet they also contribute to ill health, inequity, environmental degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. These challenges demand urgent food systems transformation. Such a transformation requires understanding the status of food systems across their diverse functions.COP28 will be GAIN's third COP, and our first as an accredited NGO. At COP27, we participated in two key sessions on the Presidency programme (including the official high-level launch of the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition and a roundtable session on food security and climate), as well as a wide range of events in the Food Systems Pavilion, Food4Climate Pavilion, Food and Agriculture Pavilion, and other pavilions where food systems were featured. Highlights included the Food Systems Pavilion plenary event on nutrition and climate, and a side-event with the Government of Bangladesh and ICCCAD at the Bangladesh Pavilion.
We published a wide range of blogs and articles (all of which can be found on the GAIN@COP27 web page) and participated in media interviews and press conferences, all seeking to highlight the various ways in which climate and nutrition are linked - and how climate action can improve nutrition outcomes. We also co-signed a joint letter from the Food Systems Pavilion calling for stronger commitment to food systems transformation in the Koronivia negotiations, as they threatened to stall.
During our two weeks at COP27, we had the opportunity to meet many colleagues and partners, notably at the Eat4Change Dinner co-organised by WWF, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, the Rockefeller Foundation and GAIN. And we established new relationships with the UAE Presidency ahead of COP28, meeting officials at for a consultation and dinner event on the sidelines of the conference.
The impact of malnutrition in
all its forms is estimated to be
each year...
...and climate change is
predicted to cost
each year.
Building on the progress made for food systems at COP27, the last year has been a busy one for GAIN and partners. The UAE Presidency has been highly engaged in organising a strong food agenda at COP28, resulting in the first formal Food Day on the official programme.
Throughout the year, GAIN (along with many other partners) has given significant input into the Presidency's strategic planning, attending workshops in Abu Dhabi and participating in various consultations. GAIN supports the Presidency Initiatives planned for COP28 and will play an active role in promoting them and delivering on the objectives.
GAIN and partners also provided multiple submissions to the Sharm El Sheikh Joint Work on Implementation of Climate Action on Agriculture and Food Security, with a view to influencing the negotiating agenda at COP28.
GAIN also had a presence at Africa Climate Week, the African Food Systems Forum, New York Climate Week / UNGA, CFS, the World Food Prize, the Micronutrient Forum, and Asia-Pacific Climate Week.
GAIN's Environment programme focuses on the two-way relationship between food systems and the environment. Food systems are a driver of environmental harm, and also a victim of climate change and the degradation of our natural ecosystems. To learn more about these linkages, please take a look at our Environment-Nutrition Infographic or watch our Interview Cruncher on Climate Change, Nutrition and Food Security. Our focus at COP27 was to highlight the importance of this two-way relationship to promote integrated action to achieve multiple outcomes across human and planetary health.
We will bring a similar message to COP28. Whereas last year we joined a global call to action, this year we will shift our focus to country-level implementation.
Firstly, the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition addresses multiple ways in which interventions can be designed to benefit both climate and nutrition at national level. For example, it considers integration of nutrition in NDCs, NAPs, and other key climate policies - and, on the reverse, the integration of climate in key nutrition policies. This builds on the paper published in October 2023 about the current state of integration and opportunities to accelerate action.
Secondly, events at country pavilions offer the opportunity to engage with key stakeholders directly, as well as to share tangible examples of coherent action across food systems. Building on the success of last year's event at the Bangladesh Pavilion, we will seek further opportunities to engage with our national partners.
Thirdly, the official negotiations and the Presidency agenda on food systems present multiple entry points for country-level action, including the Leaders' Declaration, Alliance of Champions on Food, and the Sharm el Sheikh Joint Work on Implementation of Climate Action on Agriculture and Food Security. We will work with partners to amplify and support these initiatives, including in GAIN countries.
Scroll through the list to discover all the events GAIN is leading and attending at COP28. Please also check out GAIN's work at COP27 and the initiatives we're building on here:
As well as our letter to the stakeholders of COP26.
If you have any questions you can contact Oliver Camp at [email protected].
Event title | Description | Organiser | Date | Time | Location | Livestream |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Food Debate | A debate on the role of animal-source foods and action required across production, consumption, and nutrition | ILRI, ProVeg | 1.12.2023 | 10:00-12:00 | Food4Climate Pavilion | View |
| I-CAN at the Egypt Pavilion | TBC | Government of Egypt | 3.12.2023 | 10:00-10:45 | Egypt Pavilion | |
| Scaling up integrated actions to address malnutrition and climate change | Pavilion Event focusing on actions that can achieve co-benefits across nutrition and climate mitigation and adaptation. | FAO | 3.12.2023 | 11:00 - 12:00 | Food & Ag Pavilion | View |
| I-CAN at the Food Systems Pavilion | Presenting the integrated nutrition-climate agenda with a view to highlighting win-wins and opportunities in greater coherence. | CGIAR Nutrition, FOLU, FSP Partners | 3.12.2023 | TBC | Food Systems Pavilion | |
| Building Climate-Resilient Health Systems through Partnerships like ATACH | High-level event with WHO, ATACH, IsDB, and Member States discussing climate-health interactions and the Alliance for Transformative Action on Food (which hosts the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition). | WHO, FAO, OHCHR, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA | 4.12.2023 | 13:15-14:45 | UNFCCC SE Room 5 | |
| Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition ATACH event | An event led by WHO on the Health Pavilion day focusing on the Alliance for Transformative Action on Health, showcasing the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition. | WHO | 4.12.2023 | 16:00-17:15 | WHO Pavilion | View |
| Breakfast event on animal-source foods | A debate-style invitation-only event to address some of the challenging complexities and nuances around the role of animal-source foods in healthy and sustainable diets. | CGIAR, ILRI, SNV, FSP | 6.12.2023 | 07:30-08:45 | Food Systems Pavilion | |
| UNFCCC Sustainable Food Systems Futures Event | An official UNFCCC side-event in partnership with Clim-Eat and the Government of Vietnam, discussing the sustainable food system of the future | Clim-Eat, GAIN, Government of Vietnam | 6.12.2023 | 13:15-14:45 | SE Room 8 | View |
| Cities leading the way on sustainable food and climate | A Presidency event highlighting the essential role of cities in ensuring nutritious, safe, sustainable food for all | UAE Presidency, C40, ICLEI | 6.12.2023 | 10:00-11:30 | One of 4x Presidency spaces | |
| GAIN-Government of Bangladesh Event: Climate change Adaptation in Bangladesh Agriculture and its financing | An event in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh on adaptation in agriculture and food systems | GAIN & Bangladesh MoA and MOEFCC | 8.12.2023 | 13:30-16:00 | Bangladesh Pavilion | |
| Connecting Climate Action and Nutrition: Paving the Way to Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems | An event where I-CAN will feature as a part of efforts to link climate and nutrition | Healthy Diets Coalition, EDF, Nordic Council of Ministers | 8.12.2023 | 19:30-20:30 | EU Pavilion (online only) | View |
| Animal-source foods' contributions to healthy diets and sustainable food systems | A Pavilion event on animal-source foods and their impacts on health and the environment. | IICA. Protein PACT, RedFlag | 08.12.2023 | 13:30-14:30 | IICA Pavilion | View |
| Healthy and sustainable diets for nurturing people and planet | A WHO Pavilion event on healthy and sustainable diets, featuring I-CAN | WHO, Brazil, Switzerland/OPN SFS Programme, UN-Nutrition and WHO EURO | 10.12.2023 | 09:30-10:45 | WHO Pavilion | View |
| I-CAN Make a Difference: Innovative Solutions to Address Climate Change and Malnutrition | A fire-side chat format on nutrition-climate links at national level, framed around I-CAN | UNFCCC, FAO | 10.12.2023 | 10:00-11:00 | Global Innovation Hub | View |
| Sustainable Consumption, Diets, and FLW Presidency Event | A Presidency event on healthy and sustainable diets and food loss and waste, taking an urban view and linking to the effects on rural areas | UAE Presidency, TURFS | 10.12.2023 | 10:30-12:00 | One of 4x Presidency spaces | |
| Accelerating Transformation at the Nutrition-Climate Nexus | A high-level Presidency event on the links between nutrition and climate, and opportunities to accelerate action by taking an integrated approach to both issues | UAE Presidency, GAIN, SUN | 10.12.2023 | 13:00-14:00 | Connect Conference, Green Zone | NA |
| The role of livestock in meeting our global climate, food security and nutrition goals | A discussion on the challenges and benefits of livestock to climate and nutrition goals. | Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Meat and Livestock Australia | 10.12.2023 | 15:00-16:00 | Australia Pavilion | View |
| Tackling Micronutrient Malnutrition in a Warming World | A WHO Pavilion event on tackling micronutrient malnutrition through interventions including (but not limited to) fortification and biofortification | GAIN, SUN, UNICEF, WFP, MNF, ST4N, IFSBH | 10.12.2023 | 15:15-16:30 | WHO Pavilion | View |
| Food Systems & Healthy Diets for Climate Action | The event will bring together experts and thought leaders to highlight the interconnectedness between food systems, health, nutrition, and climate. How can we eat for our health while preserving the health of our planet? What interventions can be put in place to promote sustainable food systems and just food environments? | Nordic Council of Ministers with UN Coordination Hub | 10.12.2023 | 16:45 - 17:30 | Nordic Pavilion | View |
| Financing Nutrition for a Healthier Climate: The Power of Sustainable Diets | An event in the Food and Agriculture Pavilion discussing the crucial issue of finance for healthier and more sustainable diets | WHO | 11.12.2023 | 17:00-18:00 | Food & Ag Pavilion | View |
| Health, Food and Climate: A Systems Perspective | An official UNFCCC side-event on the interlinkages between food, health and climate | Finland, Nordic Council of Ministers, WHO | 11.12.2023 | 18:30-20:00 | SE Room 4, UNFCCC Pavilion |
Executive Director, GAIN
Lead, Environment and Nutrition
Senior Technical Specialist
Country Director, India
Ethiopia Country Director, GAIN
Environment and Food Systems Advocacy Advisor
Digital Community Associate & Comms Focal Point for Environment
Lead Group Member, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN)
Head of Policy and Advocacy, GAIN Ethiopia
Executive Director’s Office Analyst
Junior Associate - Environment
Country Advisor, Foresight for Food Systems, Social Protection, and Environment
Project Coordinator, Youth and Adolescent Nutrition
2023 I-CAN Baseline Assessment
The Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) is a multistakeholder, multi-sectoral global flagship program
Launched by Government of Egypt at the “Adaptation and Agriculture” thematic day at COP27
Core partners include WHO, FAO, UN-Nutrition secretariat, GAIN and SUN
Formally hosted as a climate and nutrition working group under the Alliance for Transformative Action for Climate and Health (ATACH) co-chaired by the Government of Egypt and GAIN.
It is likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century
As many as 828 million people are undernourished
The impact of malnutrition in all its forms is estimated to be US$3.5 trillion each year
The I-CAN baseline report aims to provide a snapshot into the current state of integration between climate and nutrition. Across the board, we see low levels of climate-nutrition integration within action, data capacities, policy and strategy, and finance. However, there are many opportunities where climate and nutrition can be closer integrated to accelerate win-win benefits in both domains. I-CAN strives to further advance actions in this area.
The intersection of climate and nutrition action is rich with opportunity to accelerate advancement in both outcomes. For the first time an evidence based report shines a light on those opportunities for decision makers in government, development agencies and the private sector.
As we approach COP28 a new landscape of opportunity to advance climate and nutrition action has been revealed. We must seize these opportunities for people and planet.
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN
For the I-CAN baseline report, we have developed a methodology where 4 classification levels are used to determine the degree of integration between climate and nutrition. These classification levels are used across a range of indicators (where applicable) and are designed to be action-oriented progressing toward the higher levels.
27 EU countries submitted a joint NDC which we have counted as 1 NDC in this analysis
(GNR Commitments Source: Global Nutrition Report NAF Commitment Tracker, version as of April 2023)
(FBDGs Source: FAO FBDG Database, versions as of July 2023)
(Public Food Procurement Nutrition-Related Policies Source: WHO GINA database, version as of June 2023)
What are the applications of the I-CAN baseline report findings towards improving climate and nutrition outcomes?
First, the report identifies opportunities for countries, businesses, and development agencies to improve integration of climate and nutrition action to spur acceleration in the outcomes of both. For example, many initiatives target food and agriculture broadly, which could be leveraged to include more explicit considerations of nutrition.
Second, there are bright spots with certain countries, businesses and agencies leading the way. The NDC of Benin, the Climate NAP of Bangladesh, and the NNP of Ethiopia are all best practices included in the I-CAN baseline report. Cross-learning and information sharing will go a long way towards integrated climate and nutrition advancements.
Third, the actions that serve to accelerate climate and nutrition need to become better understood and socialised. FAO’s I-CAN paper, Climate Action and Nutrition: Pathways to Impact, highlights four core systems: agri-food, water, social protection, and health, where opportunities to further advance climate-nutrition integration exist.
Fourth, there were many challenges in collecting the baseline data. For example, an area which we could not assess includes the amount of agriculture research and development funding that links climate and nutrition. We hope that methods for collecting integrated climate-nutrition data will be improved and hence enhance data availability in the future.
Fifth, we very much hope that individual countries will use the baseline to set their own targets for some of these indicators. All country-level data used in our analysis are available upon request. Tracking of indicators towards targets will help governments assess progress and identify areas where more support can be brought to bear.
2030 is drawing close. Time is of the essence as we strive to achieve the SDGs, aiming to eliminate hunger and malnutrition whilst ensuring positive impacts for climate action and our natural environment. With sustained and combined efforts, closer integration between climate and nutrition is possible, and will have positive impacts on the lives of millions around the world – today and tomorrow.
With thanks to
