This is an exciting time to be in Ethiopia. A new Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, was appointed in early April and the newly reshuffled cabinet was announced last week. We will certainly be working with GAIN and partners in Ethiopia to try to convince the new PM and his team that malnutrition sits uncomfortably in a nation that sees itself as a middle income country by 2025, a leading light in Africa, and a source of manufacturing and innovation.
At GAIN, over the last six months we’ve been building a new Nutritious Foods Financing programme starting in East Africa. The potential of the programme is becoming increasingly exciting as data becomes available showing the scope and viability of SMEs to deliver more nutritious foods, if appropriate private investments are unlocked.
Since 2010, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement has inspired a new way of working collaboratively to end malnutrition–in all its forms. And yet, 1000 days into the SDG era, no high-income country has become a member of the SUN Movement. Why does this matter? Joining SUN will help high-income countries achieve greater coherence in their battle against malnutrition.
A new report calls for governments and companies to join forces to tackle global malnutrition, saying that achievement of the nutrition-related UN Sustainable Development Goals requires leveraging the resources of firms, financiers and shareholders, to work with civil society stakeholders to support the nutrition priorities of governments.
GAIN and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) are to team up to work to advance their shared vision of creating sustainable food systems in Africa. GAIN Executive Director, Lawrence Haddad and AGRA President, Dr Agnes Kalibata signed the Memorandum of Understanding paving the way for the partnership at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Nutrition Africa Investor Forum will highlight business opportunities in a largely underdeveloped market. From farm to fork, nutrient gaps in diets within low and middle-income markets constitute a largely untapped market worth USD 120bn.
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences – with support from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), is convening the “Workshop on Food Safety and Healthy Diets” in Vatican City 12-13 September 2018. The workshop will highlight that all people should have access to safe, affordable and nutritious foods which are essential for sustaining life and human dignity.
Over 200 delegates, including dealmakers, entrepreneurs and investors will meet at the Nutrition Africa Investor Forum (NAIF) on October 16-17 – World Food Day — in Nairobi, Kenya, to explore partnerships, access business finance and enter new markets.
At GAIN we are passionate about changing the world to abolish the malnutrition that destroys lives, families and undermines communities and nations. In giving his acceptance speech for the 2018 World Food Prize, GAIN Executive Director Lawrence Haddad turned to the personal experiences that shaped commitment its causes and the potential resources to eliminate it.
GAIN is part of the consortium led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) selected by USAID to improve nutrition for women and children in low- and middle-income countries around the globe. The five-year programme will bring together international and local organisations from various sectors and different disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate activities that combat malnutrition.
