Compact2025 News in Brief: April 12, 2017

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

108 million people were reported to face Crisis level food insecurity or worse in 2016, driven primarily by El Niño-induced weather patterns and conflicts, according to the Global Report on Food Crises 2017.

Asset accumulation, parental education, and access to antenatal care are the largest drivers of nutritional improvement, finds a study on Bangladesh, Nepal, Ethiopia, Odisha, Senegal, and Zambia.

Better nutrition knowledge leads to large improvements in children’s dietary diversity, but only in areas with relatively good market access, according to a study from Ethiopia.

Study on globalization of agrifood systems and sustainable nutrition suggests that new agricultural technologies and policies need to place more emphasis on promoting dietary diversity and reducing environmental impacts.

Study indicates that pulses can contribute to healthier diets through increasing efficiency of supply chains, creating more effective public–private institutional arrangements for innovation, and establishing policies, regulations, and investments that are nutrition sensitive.

Review of five Dutch knowledge platforms for global development – including one on food and nutrition security – attributes success to the multi-stakeholder approach, convening power, and ability to address emerging and contested issues.

NEWS AND EVENTS

Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition’s e-consultation “How can value chains be shaped to improve nutrition?” open until April 17.

National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN) initiative releases its first newsletter and launches new website.

The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) and USAID host e-consultation on “Nutrition, Resilience, and Agriculture-Led Economic Growth” April 18 – 20.