As we prepare for the 2025 Global Forum (13 – 17 October) marking ten years of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, we're bringing insights from our work across Africa and Asia on how city governments and local food markets can transform urban food environments and wider food systems.
Walking through any bustling urban food market, from Pemba (Mozambique) to Arusha (Tanzania) and Bogor (Indonesia), is a remarkable experience. Beyond the offerings of fresh, dried, iced and frozen produce, spices, cooked traditional meals, and animated negotiations between vendors and customers, the experience of the market is at the nexus of food systems and nutrition policies and daily realities. These markets are about more than selling and buying food; they are where the future of food systems, within cities and across urban–rural landscapes, borders, and territories, is being lived, innovated, and imagined.
When we tell people we analyze the environmental and nutritional impacts of food, we're almost always met with the same question: “So, what should I eat?” It's a deceptively complex question that highlights one of the greatest challenges facing our food systems today—how do we nourish a growing global population while protecting the planet we all share?
This challenge has driven us at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to develop a new approach that we're excited to share in our latest briefing paper, "Nourishing People and Planet: Enviro-Nutritional Insights into Local Foods for Policy, Programmes, and Industry."
Five years ago, fragmented food systems data made it challenging for stakeholders to take away meaningful insights for evidence-based decision-making. Today, the Food Systems Dashboard has transformed the data landscape and become an indispensable resource for food systems stakeholders worldwide, providing nearly 200,000 users with comprehensive, visual data and expert analysis that can help turn data into action and insights into impact.
Investing in companies that support nutritious food value chains could be a triple win for farmers’ livelihoods, their nutrition, and that of the end consumers of their products – but how do we know it actually works? Over the past few months, the Nutritious Foods Financing Facility (N3F) has been working with our first few investees and the leading impact-measurement specialist 60 Decibels to try and find out.
Food packaging is ubiquitous in the modern world but also easily forgettable: once we’ve dumped the crackers out of their bag and into our hand, or scraped the last of the yoghurt out of the bottom of its plastic pot, we usually toss the packaging into the bin without a second thought.
If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, after the U.S. and China: not only does it represent the use of resources and environmental impact without a clear benefit, but as it decomposes in landfills, it releases methane and carbon dioxide. What if some of this could be avoided, and in a way that improved access to safe, nutritious foods for those who need them?
In Tanzania, nearly 70% of the population is under 30 - a generation full of energy and potential. Yet, for many young people, finding meaningful work isn’t easy. Agri-food jobs could offer huge opportunities, but the section is often seen as outdated and unappealing to youth. The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) funded by the Master Card Foundation through AGRA is working to shift this narrative through the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) initiative, supporting young Tanzanians to find jobs and turn the sector into a vibrant space for innovation.
Every day, thousands of workers across Pakistan’s Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE) clock into jobs that power the country’s manufacturing sector. From ceramics and textiles to printing, chemicals, and food production, these industries depend on a steady, skilled workforce. Yet, behind the manufacturing lines are workers whose nutritional needs are often overlooked. Improving workforce health and productivity can yield broader economic dividends by reducing absenteeism, improving industrial output, and lowering healthcare costs associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Four years after the landmark 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), the urgency of transforming food systems is growing. With just five years left until the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, momentum is growing, but so are the challenges. The UNFSS+4 Stocktake, held in July 2025, reflects a remarkable evolution in how countries and partners are reimagining food systems to be more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient. Since the first Stocktake (UNFSS+2), countries have moved from vision to action: 128 nations now have national food systems pathways, 155 have appointed National Convenors, and 39 have revised their pathways into detailed action plans. Voluntary reporting has increased, signalling strong political commitment.
Food system transformation (FST) is fundamental to human progress. Feeding and nourishing the world. Creating jobs and reducing poverty. Managing the environment. Avoiding catastrophic climate change. Building resilience to shocks. These are the building blocks of human and planetary wellbeing.
