To accelerate progress to end hunger and undernutrition around the world, the News in Brief informs partners on emerging research and innovation, developments in global, regional, and national policies and programs, and timely news and events. Please feel free to share any feedback at IFPRI-Compact2025@cgiar.org. Find the latest developments in Compact2025 here.
The World Bank, The Power of Nutrition, the Global Financing Facility, and the Government of Rwanda have allocated an additional $23 million for the Strengthening Social Protection Project to reduce chronic malnutrition of children. This additional financing will provide cash transfers to vulnerable families to incentivize the use of health and nutrition services and to strengthen knowledge on better parenting and child care.
How can public and private sector links be more effective to improve diets? A new policy brief from the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition sets out six priorities for action: (1) encouraging investments in food sector small and medium-sized enterprises, (2) promoting consumer demand for healthy diets, (3) public incentives for appropriate action in the private sector, (4) managing risks, (5) building trust, (6) and providing reliable and supportive infrastructure.
“Developing nutrition-sensitive value chains in Nigeria” is an IFAD brief that explores how promoting the production and consumption of cowpea, groundnut, soybean, millet and sorghum could contribute to improving nutrition as well as livelihoods for smallholders.
Now is the time to prioritize investments in vegetable research and development: vegetables create economic opportunities for reducing rural poverty and unemployment and provide healthy diets for all, concludes a review article in Global Food Security by researchers from the World Vegetable Center.
The latest addition to the New Extensionist Learning Kit is available from the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services. It focuses on nutrition-sensitive extension and provides agricultural extension professionals with information on nutritious diets, interactions between agriculture and nutrition, and approaches to effectively partner with others working to improve the nutrition of different communities.
IFPRI researchers Bart Minten and Kalle Hirvonen highlight in a blog post the challenges facing Ethiopia, where economic growth improves living standards and calorie consumption, but dietary diversity lags and the threats of overweight and obesity loom large especially for urban populations.
In Bangladesh, international funders need to develop better relationships with appropriate ministries and implementing organizations and coordinate across sectors to help sustain progress in areas such as stunting according to Jahangir Hossain, program director of health for CARE Bangladesh, in an interview with Malnutrition Deeply.
Pathways from women’s group-based programs to nutrition change in South Asia will be highlighted in a webinar on May 9, led by IFPRI researcher Neha Kumar and hosted by the CGIAR.
On May 10, the Society for Implementation Science in Nutrition will host a webinar on “Understanding Program Adaptation” to explore with professor Cam Escoffery, Emory University, how lessons learned from adapting evidence-based public health interventions might inform practices in implementation science in nutrition.
