Related Resource: Taking a Food Systems Approach to Policymaking

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Results for Development (R4D) and the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London today published a new package of resources for policymakers interested in taking a food systems approach to advance healthy diets and combat malnutrition. The resources define what it means to take a food systems approach, explore potential entry points in different sectors, and present ways to identify and engage relevant stakeholders.

Food systems include the chain of activities from farm to fork and beyond (food disposal and waste) and they have enormous potential to support healthy diets and nutrition while also advancing livelihoods and prosperity and protecting the planet due to all the elements (e.g., economic, social, political, environmental, and health) that interconnect. For example, policies that influence one part of the food system have ripple effects across other parts, with implications beyond their immediate objectives. Currently, however, food systems fail to deliver on this potential as these interconnections are not leveraged

“There is an urgent need for an integrated food systems approach for food and nutrition-related policymaking,” said Albertha Nyaku, nutrition practice lead at R4D. “Indeed, the release of these resources is very timely amid the worsening crisis of global hunger and malnutrition exacerbated by global conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the impact of COVID 19.” 

This resource package, Taking a Food Systems Approach to Policymaking: A Resource for Policymakers, includes an executive summary, evidence review and four technical briefs that provide practical ideas for how to operationalize a food systems approach — holistically and effectively — to achieve greater impact on food system outcomes. It also provides country examples that illustrate real-world examples and give links to existing tools and resources that policymakers can use to get started or to bolster ongoing efforts

Taking a food systems approach to policymaking does not imply that all countries will follow a single pathway. Much depends on the policy issue and the context. These resources explore how policymakers can decide which policy or set of policies will work for their context, and how they can ensure they are leveraging the benefits and managing the risks across multiple food system objectives.

The resources were developed through a collaborative process involving consultations with experts and government representatives working on food systems at the global, regional and country levels. Country policymakers supported the development of these resources, emphasizing the challenge they face related to the interconnected dimensions of the food system and the multisectoral and multi-stakeholders aspects of the food system.

The package was designed primarily for policymakers in government ministries and agencies with responsibility for any policy with the potential to influence diets and nutrition, such as policies on food, agriculture, the environment, health, transportation, trade, education, and the economy. However, they can also be used by advocates, funders, program managers, and other stakeholders seeking to understand, encourage, and/or pursue a food systems approach to policymaking

This resource package was developed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

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About Results for Development
Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — supporting them as they navigate complex change processes to achieve large-scale, equitable outcomes in health, education and nutrition. We work with country leaders to diagnose challenges, co-create, innovate and implement solutions built on evidence and diverse stakeholder input, and engage in learning to adapt, iterate and improve. We also strengthen global, regional and country ecosystems to support country leaders with expertise, evidence, and innovations. R4D helps country leaders solve their immediate challenges today, while also strengthening systems and institutions to address tomorrow’s challenges. And we share what we learn so others around the world can achieve results for development too. www.R4D.org  

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Ms. McCarter is a senior program associate on the nutrition practice at R4D where she supports nutrition projects across multiple sub-practices, with a focus on nutrition financing.

Before joining R4D, Ms. McCarter worked for the World Health Organization (WHO) European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases’ nutrition team conducting research on sugar reduction policies in the region. Her work served as the background material for member states prior to the formulation of the 2022 European Sugar and Calorie Reduction Network.

She has also served as the Indigenous Peoples’ liaison intern for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations where she worked closely with both the North American Liaison Office in D.C. and the Indigenous Peoples Technical Unit in Rome during the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and Pre-Summit, and as a research analyst for the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) database examining the impact of climate hazards on culture and diet throughout the ethnographic record.

Abbe holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a certificate in food systems, the environment, and public health from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and a BS in anthropology and human biology from Emory University.

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In 2021, the UN Food Systems Summit was called to address this missed opportunity. It sought to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals by leveraging the many connections between food systems and global challenges, such as hunger, climate change, poverty, and inequality. By taking a food systems approach to policymaking, the Summit suggested, governments could harness the power of food systems to benefit people and the planet. But what does it mean to take a food systems approach? How can interested policymakers adopt this approach and apply it to their contexts?

Project Profile: Resources to Support Policymakers to Take a Food Systems Approach to Policymaking

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Acknowledgments: This resource package was developed by the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London and Results for Development (R4D), with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The team from City, University of London comprised Corinna Hawkes and Ursula Trübswasser. The resource package was developed through consultations with global and country actors, and the authors are grateful to members of the Advisory Group for providing advice and feedback throughout the process and reviewing drafts.

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Dr. Djimeu is an associate director in evaluation and adaptive learning at Results for Development (R4D) where he leads innovative monitoring, evaluation, research and learning approaches to improve the performance of health, education, and nutrition systems. He leads the Rapid Feedback Monitoring Evaluation Research and Learning (RF MERL) project in Mali and supports monitoring evaluation learning activities (MEL) for the HSS Accelerator, a global USAID-funded health system strengthening program. In addition, he collaborates with other programs and lines of work at R4D.

Dr. Djimeu’s career has focused on generating and adapting evidence to enhance performance of social development outcomes. Prior to R4D, Dr. Djimeu worked at GAIN as a senior technical evaluation specialist where he set up a system for conducting evaluations and led the evaluation of major nutrition programs. Prior to GAIN, he worked at 3ie where he designed and led seven research projects on HIV self-testing in Kenya and six impact evaluations. He has promoted evidence generation and their use in designing interventions to enhance effectiveness of programs across different sectors including nutrition, health, education, infrastructure, and agriculture. He has conducted capacity building activities to train young researchers, policymakers and stakeholders in evaluation methods and techniques and the use of evidence to inform policies.

Dr. Djimeu has published more than two dozen journal articles. His research spans multiple specialties, including impact evaluations, empirical methodologies, replication research, evidence review, cost effectiveness analysis, and macroeconomic analysis. He holds a PhD and master’s degree in economics from the University of Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand I in France and a BA in economics from University of Yaoundé II. He is native speaker of Ghomala and French and speaks fluent English.

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Wasting is one of the largest mortality drivers for children U5, contributing to up to 2 million deaths annually. In 2019, 47M children were affected by wasting, of which 14.3M were severely wasted. Urgent action is therefore needed to achieve the WHA target by 2025 to reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%. While ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) is a highly cost-effective treatment for severe acute malnutrition, funding for RUTFs only manages to cover roughly 25% of the potential need.

R4D was supported by Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Eleanor Crook Foundation to assess RUTF market challenges at the global and country level (Ethiopia and Tanzania), to further develop recommendations that address these barriers. The policy brief and final readout slides are summaries of our final recommended actions, with the objective to provide key decision makers with insights to design market shaping interventions that can increase availability of RUTFs.

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Ms. Harp is a program officer on the nutrition practice at R4D where she supports nutrition projects across multiple sub-practices, with a focus on nutrition financing.

Before joining R4D, Ms. Harp supported the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG) to update analysis estimating the prevalence of global zinc deficiency. This work produced several country-level briefs on fortification efforts and a report released globally to increase support for mandatory zinc fortification programs.

Ms. Harp also worked at Chemonics International on a famine early warning project which monitored agroclimatology, markets, and livelihood change across sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Central America. In this position, she led the team responsible for project operations and supported the senior management team in program implementation. Throughout her career, Ms. Harp has focused on facilitating inclusive collaboration with colleagues and partners. She has coordinated several large workshops on food security and nutrition with international attendees.

As of May 2022, Ms. Harp will hold a master’s degree in food and nutrition policy and programs from the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University. She has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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In her career, Ms. Makungu has worked with small and medium enterprises in developing countries to shape stories in agriculture, food, and nutrition. Her focus has been to coordinate the provision of technical support for small and medium enterprises, shaping, and disseminating stories of impact and growth for low-income communities.

Prior to R4D, Ms. Makungu worked for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition where she led the development of training curriculums and coordinated program communications. Before this, she worked in research for an education firm helping to coordinate messaging to improve literacy and numeracy competencies in lower primary schools. She also previously led communications, events management, and the knowledge platform revamp for AgriFocus Kenya.

Ms. Makungu holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She speaks fluent Swahili and English.

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Ms. Nyaku is the nutrition practice senior program director at Results for Development (R4D), where she oversees a diverse nutrition portfolio at the country, regional and global levels. She leads strategic development initiatives which delivers technical assistance emphasizing partnerships with local or regional institutions to facilitate and support country led change processes, promote regional learnings and technical support networks, and ensure that country and regional actors and evidence are prioritized or play a bigger role in global processes.

Throughout her career, Ms. Nyaku has supported countries build capacities of country change agents from government and civil society for the prevention and management of malnutrition.

Prior to R4D, Ms. Nyaku was the technical advisor with the Alive and Thrive Program at FHI360 where she worked with the Nigeria program to develop and launch the Start Strong behavior change communication program implemented in 11 states. Start Strong has since become a government national program being scaled up to other states. She also coordinated the USAID Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition Program in 12 African countries which resulted in the development and use of evidence-based approaches and tools for community and health facility-based nutrition services and strengthening of nutrition services in routine health systems.

Ms. Nyaku is currently a member of the American Society of Nutrition.

Ms. Nyaku holds a bachelor of arts degree in home science and sociology with the University of Ghana, and a public health graduate certificate with Tulane University, School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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