Understanding Moments of Change in Food Systems Transformation
Four years on from the UN Food Systems Summit, how well are we progressing in transforming food systems so that they reduce hunger, increase access to healthy diets, reduce climate emissions, improve climate resilience, create good jobs, and nurture the environment? The numbers tell a mixed story. According to the Food Systems Countdown Initiative, itself a creation of the UNFSS, only 20 of 42 global food system indicators are trending positively (1), with none fast enough to meet 2030 SDG goals. These numbers are important but inevitably reliant on data that are 2–3 years out of date.
The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) was the first time youth were actively invited to be equal participants in a global food or nutrition summit. Youth played a pivotal role in UNFSS, contributing diverse perspectives to transform global food systems. Through youth-led dialogues, leadership in action tracks, and the UNFSS Youth Constituency, young people influenced policies, showcased innovative solutions for sustainability, and championed intergenerational equity. A key outcome of UNFSS was the Food Systems Pathways, which set out countries’ approaches for transforming their food systems to be more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
In April 2025, we took part in the Act4Food Youth Leaders Workshop held in Arusha, Tanzania, a truly transformative experience that deepened our already strong convictions of the power and potential of young people to shape the future of our food systems. Organized by ACT4FOOD with support from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the workshop brought together 22 youth leaders from across the globe working under the ACT4FOOD banner, along with GAIN staff and additional food systems youth leaders from Tanzania.
Human Centred Design (HCD) is a set of approaches, methods, and mindsets that can be applied to create fit-for-purpose solutions (designed around the needs of the final user).
GAIN is committed to making social protection systems work harder for the nutrition and dietary resilience of the most vulnerable consumers using HCD.
In Ethiopia, children are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to malnutrition – with 39% stunted, and 28% suffering from micronutrient deficiencies. Education and nutrition are intrinsically linked, with malnutrition having a harmful effect on academic performance as well as adult life (Ready to learn and thrive - School health and nutrition around the world, UNESCO, 2023).
Rwanda is writing a new chapter in its journey toward prosperity. A journey rooted in resilience, innovation, and the power of its people. At the heart of this transformation is agriculture: a sector that not only feeds the nation but holds the promise of widespread economic growth, improved nutrition, and environmental sustainability.
Indonesia’s 2025 update of its Food Security and Vulnerability Atlas (FSVA) marks a transformative leap in the nation’s
commitment to building a resilient, data-driven food system. While the FSVA has been updated annually in previous years, the 2025 edition introduces major innovations, including the use of village-level data for over 83,000 villages, expanded sub-district analysis, and the integration of new composite indicators and predictive modeling. These advances enable the more precise identification of food-insecure areas, supporting targeted actions aligned with national priorities, such as reducing stunting, alleviating poverty, and promoting rural development. With these enhancements, FSVA 2025 strengthens Indonesia’s capacity to deliver evidence-based, locally tailored
interventions across all levels of government.
Did you know that nearly 90% of soybeans (3 million tonnes) in Indonesia are still imported? Soybean is dominantly used to produce tempeh – a traditional food as one of the main plant protein sources with high nutritional value and has been consumed in Indonesia since the 16th century. The consumption of tempeh in Indonesia holds deep historical and cultural significance, yet ironically it currently relies on imported soybean from North and South America. GAIN Indonesia is currently working in 2 provinces on diversifying bean supply for tempeh production to increase resilience of tempeh production.
This webinar will introduce the FSD 2024 competition winners, provide them with a platform to share their experiences utilizing the Food Systems Dashboard (FSD) in their work.
The session will highlight how participants can leverage the FSD to access and analyse food systems data.
The world is facing multiple interconnected crises, including climate change and escalating conflicts, which pose significant challenges to food systems. These issues highlight the need for systemic transformation to improve food security, nutrition, and environmental sustainability. In response, GAIN's Nourishing Food Pathways (NFP) programme aims to strengthen and support the implementation of food system pathways in 11 countries.
One focus of NFP is exploring the intersection between food and environment, including climate change, to identify consumer actions that promote both nutrition and environmental sustainability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specifically, GAIN is interested in understanding if our Emotivate™ approach, which leverages emotions to motivate consumers to want better diets, can be extended to include emotions or values associated with environmental sustainability. Our initial hypothesis was that consumers felt emotional tensions related to environmental sustainability as a driver of food choices, which could be leveraged to develop an emotionally resonant campaign.
Incofin Investment Management and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), through the Nutritious Food Financing Facility (N3F), have announced new investments in three pioneering food enterprises in East Africa: Soy Afric in Kenya, and Mkuza Chicks Ltd and Rainbow Haulage in Tanzania.
