


Dr Graziano Da Silva: the quiet FAO revolutionary
Last week GAIN awarded the outgoing Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Dr Graziano Da Silva, the 2019 Nutrition Inspiration Award. When looking back at Dr Da Silva’s tenure at FAO it is surprising at how revolutionary it has been. Unlike some others in our field, Dr Graziano has grasped that the world of hunger and nutrition is rapidly changing and he has equipped FAO to address those challenges.
Release of the Fortification Assessment Coverage Toolkit (FACT)
FACT provides standardised methods for the collection, analysis, and synthesis of data on quality, coverage, and consumption of fortified foods across countries while allowing for adaptations to meet specific country needs and contexts. Specifically, it provides step-by-step guidance on how to decide, design, and conduct a FACT survey.
Beacons for exploring uncharted nutrition territory
Last week, GAIN co-led a five-day Executive Short Course entitled "Together for Nutrition: Public-Private engagement to improve the consumption of nutritious food". The course, the first of its kind, was made available by the six funders who together support GAIN’s Making Markets Work for Nutritious Foods programme.
Rethinking business engagement and nutrition
Recently GAIN and the Accesss to Nutrition Foundation (ATNF) co-hosted a meeting on "Building Business Commitments for the 2020 Nutrition for Growth Summit" in The Hague. There were 140 participants, with over 60 representatives from the business community. The host was the Government of the Netherlands and the meeting was opened by the Government of Japan, which will host next year’s Global Nutrition Summit.
Workforce Programme: working for nutrition?
GAIN and the Consumer Goods Forum co-convened a meeting on Better Nutrition for a Healthier Workforce. The purpose was to review the evidence and, if warranted, to elevate the issue beyond the rather low-key profile it currently has. What is a workforce nutrition programme? We reviewed evidence from high- and low-income countries and from corporate headquarters to supply chain settings.
Chloé Ribal-Vigneau
Legal ManagerGeneva, Switzerland

From small to nutritious: can retailers lead a healthy food revolution?
The retail sector is where consumers come face to face with food. Retailers have significant influence over whether the food that consumers face is nutritious, safe, available, affordable or attractive. I have heard it said many times that the chief buyers for large food retailers are more important in influencing food choices than Ministries of Agriculture or Food.
To engage or not to engage with the private sector to advance nutrition?
Any organisation entering into a public private engagement has to be able to publicly justify using public funds. Identifying, preventing, reducing, mitigating and managing conflicts of interest is a key part of that. What are the risks of engaging with private sector?