What's New

Despite increased attention from policymakers and health professionals, malnutrition continues to be a major global health problem. According to the 2015 Global Nutrition Report: Africa Brief , almost one in three people suffer from some form of malnutrition worldwide. The highest concentration of malnutrition is found in Africa south of the Sahara; in this region alone, an estimated 220 million people are calorie-deficient, 58 million children under age five are stunted (too short for their age), and 13.9 million children under five suffer from wasting (weigh too little for their age).

When it comes to household nutrition, mothers matter.

That is the takeaway message from a new working paper from IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP) . Using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), the paper examines the impact that female empowerment – specifically, access to and control over household income and resources and role in household and agricultural decision-making –  has on women’s and children’s dietary diversity and nutritional status in rural Ethiopia.

As developing country incomes rise and populations become more urbanized, food markets are seeing more demand for higher value and processed foods. At the same time, trade liberalization and increased foreign direct investment have stimulated changes in many countries’ food value chains, making it easier for modern markets to access a reliable supply of high-quality goods. These supply- and demand-side transformations have led to a strong new trend throughout developing regions – the growth of the modern supermarket.

In the inter-connected world of food security, partnerships – among countries, regions, and development organizations – can play a critical role in achieving research- and evidence-based policies to increase the resilience of global food systems and to improve food and nutrition security for all. In this light, since 2014, IFPRI has held a series of food policy dialogues in Africa south of the Sahara, in collaboration with various regional partners as part of the Food Security Portal project.

“Hidden hunger,” or malnutrition that stems from eating too few micronutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, is gaining widespread attention as a threat to global health. A working paper released by the CGIAR’s HarvestPlus program estimates that as many as 2 billion people worldwide are affected by micronutrient malnutrition.