- 16/10/2016
The position paper "Achieving Urban Food and Nutrition Security with the New Urban Agenda", makes recommendations to the Draft New Urban Agenda, emphasising the importance of creating good urban food policies and the key role cities play in this.
More than half the world’s population currently lives in urban areas, and this is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Growing urban populations demand more from our planet in terms of natural resources and the need for greater innovation in health, nutrition, quality and energy has become a priority.
This month GAIN organised an event, in partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN) and the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, on urbanisation and nutrition. While there have been some voices calling for these two issues to come together, this has not really happened, although things now seem to be changing.
Has the food and nutrition policy community adapted to the new urban realities and, if not, how should they? This was the topic of the launch of the new IFPRI Global Food Policy Report on urbanisation, food security and nutrition.
At GAIN we strive for sustained impact. Our aim is to improve the consumption of nutritious and safe food for all, especially the most vulnerable. We work hard to make sure our programming, policy and knowledge work form a virtuous circle that generates that impact. Hence, we take knowledge seriously: as producers, but also as consumers. Here is our end-of-year list for the articles, books, blogs, videos and reports that have influenced our thinking this year.
- 27/11/2019
There is increasing evidence that improved agrobiodiversity (that is, the diversity of crop and livestock genetic resources – domesticated or wild – which contributes to agriculture and food production) can enhance human nutrition through several pathways.
- 14/11/2019
Making Markets Work (MMW) is a joint programme between GAIN and six leading development agencies which aims to catalyse the power of markets and the private sector to make nutritious and safe foods more available, affordable and desirable. The programme charts new models, approaches and concepts to guide governments, investors and business to equip and shape markets to tackle malnutrition.
- 12/11/2019
Malnutrition is a major problem across many parts of the world, leading to poorer outcomes in infants and children and health problems throughout life, which reduce economic growth and quality of life. Many of the causes of malnutrition have to do with diets, and diets are shaped by the food system.
I go to many meetings where the term "food system transformation" is bandied about. Sometimes the term goes unquestioned - for some people it has entered into the rarefied atmosphere of development jargon. But increasingly (thank goodness) the question is being asked: what does food system transformation mean? So what is the answer?
- 29/10/2019
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central to low- and middle-income country (LMIC) food systems and have the potential to increase local accessibility (availability and affordability) of nutritious and safe foods.