Food Systems and Nutrition

Malnutrition costs Africa billions of dollars due to the higher healthcare costs and loss of productivity. Micronutrient deficiencies are a silent killer of children and people, affecting mental acuity. Overweight and obesity also have a toll on human health and productivity, affecting the labor force along food system value chains. Investing in nutrition is both a moral imperative and a sound economic investment. Food systems approaches to building comprehensive and innovative public policies and programs for both the supply and demand sides of food and the food environment, where consumers make their food-related decisions, need to be “nutrition-sensitive”. To achieve this, nutrition must be mainstreamed across sectoral policies and food systems programs. Affordable healthy food options are fundamental to the development of more equitable and sustainable food systems. During this session, policymakers and nutrition specialists will reflect on policies and programs and discuss how to bring various food system actors on board to generate impactful nutrition and health outcomes.

SEQUENCE 1: Building Nutrition-Sensitive Food Systems

SEQUENCE 2: Policies to Advance Equity and Nutrition in Food Systems

Organizers: AGRA