Global malnutrition - the context

A market in Guatemala. Photo: J. Fanzo/Bioversity

Photo: J. Fanzo/Bioversity

An estimated 925 million people are hungry worldwide, and many more are malnourished.

Children are particularly vulnerable with 175 million children under five years of age stunted due to chronic malnourishment. 90% of these children are from countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In sub-Saharan Africa, only nine of the 46 countries are on track to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal  [1] of a 50% reduction in underweight children less than 5 years old by 2015.

 

Child malnutrition in India

Food security is not only about the quantity of food produced that people have access to - it is also about the quality and diversity of that food.

In India, farmers are producing enough food to feed the population and yet the prevalence of child malnutrition there is among the highest in the world.

Food production has increased in India, with more than 25% more calories produced per person than in the 1960s, but little attention given to the nutritional quality of the foods being produced and eaten.

 

 

Modern Food Systems

Modern agriculture is mainly focused on the cultivation of three crops - rice, maize and wheat - with research and development directed at maximising yields and minimising costs rather than on improving nutrition. This has resulted in diets that are high in energy, but often lacking vital micronutrients essential for health.

Agricultural biodiversity to improve food and nutrition security

Not only are local varieties and species often more nutritious than their modern counterparts, but growing a diverse mix of traditional crops can offer smallholder farmers more resilience against climatic shocks such as drought, or pest and disease outbreaks and help preserve healthy ecosystems.

Local and traditional food  [2], along with neglected and underutilised species, are often overlooked as part of the agricultural mainstream, yet have significant local cultural importance as well as underexploited global potential to improve food and nutrition security.

Bioversity's nutrition programme   [3]uses food and nutrition system approaches to promote the use of agricultural biodiversity in agricultural systems to improve human nutrition and health.

Read more:

 A landscape analysis of nutrition and agriculture - West Africa. R. Fungo, Bioversity International. (1004 KB)  [4]

 A landscape analysis of nutrition and agriculture - East and Southern Africa. E. Musinguzi. Bioversity International. (1.2 MB)  [5]

 A landscape analysis of the nutrition and agricultural trends in 40 countries of high burden. D. Sarma, Princeton, Bioversity International.  (962 KB)  [6]

A review of global progress toward the Millennium Development Goal 1 Hunger Target. Fanzo, Jessica C.; Pronyk, Paul M. Food & Nutrition Bulletin, Volume 32, Number 2  [7]

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Filed under: Nutrition  [12]See also: Food Security  [13], Food Systems Approaches  [14], Malnutrition  [15], Micronutrients  [16], NUS  [17], Nutrition  [18], Sub-Saharan Africa  [19]

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