An upcoming webinar hosted by IMMANA will focus on diagnostics to support the identification, design, and evaluation of interventions in value chains to improve diets of low-income populations.
Emerging evidence on the nutrition double burden suggests income growth alone cannot solve the problem of malnutrition and may in fact create problems linked to overweight and obesity. The challenge from the nutrition perspective is how to sustainably improve diets, as well as other health-related behaviors, across different low-income populations.
In recent years, the nutrition community has explored value chain approaches to address malnutrition. The value chain framework focuses on the actors involved in the production, processing, trade, and consumption of a given product, and the opportunities to achieve beneficial economic outcomes for some or all actors through changes in the structures, systems, and relationships. Because value chains play a key role in determining food availability, affordability, and quality, they have a role in shaping diets and can contribute to improving nutrition.
Most applications, however, have focused on a single chain and its implications for nutrition, which from a diet quality perspective implies a partial solution at best. The challenge lies in better understanding the options for leveraging a set of value chains (a multi-chain focus) to address the various constraints to improving the diets of a given target group.
A case study from the Zomba District of southern Malawi applies data from household surveys, in-depth individual interviews, and market surveys to examine opportunities for improved diets through leveraging demand and supply of nutritious foods, and enhancing value chain performance with a nutrition lens. Preliminary results on bottlenecks and opportunities provide insights for policy and programs.
This webinar, which will be held on Thursday, May 11, from 2:00 to 3:30PM London time, will feature Aulo Gelli, Research Fellow in the Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), as well as Noora-Lisa Aberman from IFPRI, Jason Donovan from the World Agroforestry Centre, Amy Margolies from Johns Hopkins University, and Marco Santacroce from IFPRI.
Click here to learn more or register for the webinar.
