Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021 side event discusses the role of informal markets within future food systems

The Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021 takes place on 7–8 December 2021. The summit comes at a critical time, midway through the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, with only five years left to achieve the World Health Assembly  targets on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, and 10 years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ahead of the summit, on 2 December 2021, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) hosted a side event on the role of informal markets within future food systems.

The purpose of the side event was to derive a set of principles to help national policymakers develop risk-based policies that reward positive food safety as opposed to criminalization and marginalization. Such policies will improve the governance, operations and future of informal markets to ensure their continued contribution to livelihoods, health and nutrition.

A panel discussion featured the following speakers:

• Delia Grace, professor of food safety systems, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich and joint appointed scientist, ILRI
• Jane Battersby, senior lecturer, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town
• Vivian Maduekeh, managing principal, Food Health Systems Advisory
• Emma Blackmore, research associate, IIED
• Stella Nordhagen, senior technical specialist, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
• Utpal Kumar Sharma, director, Dairy Development Department, Government of Assam, India

View the recording below.

Photo credit: Market place in Kenya (World Bank/Sambrian Mbaabu)