Crisis resilience ‘critical’ to stem rising hunger

19/04/2023 0 Comments read Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.04.2023 (SciDev.Net): A shift towards permanent “crisis resilience” from short-term aid is crucial to mitigate increasingly frequent shocks to the global food system and tackle rising global hunger, say food policy researchers.

Disruption to food systems from multiple crises such as economic downturn, conflict, climate change-related weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused a surge in acute food insecurity in recent years.

The Global Report on Food Crisis: Mid-Year Update 2022 estimates that as many as 205 million people in 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food insecurity or worse, nearly double the number in 2016. It says requests for humanitarian assistance reached a record high of US$41 billion.

“Crises, shocks, and volatility are no longer exceptions and may become the new normal,” says Johan Swinnen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and managing director of the CGIAR Systems Transformation. “We should better predict and prepare, implement effective and accountable governance and institutions, and invest to build resilience against future crises.”

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Is farming harming our health?

02/07/2021 0 Comments read Environment & Development, Health & Science

Researchers look at how agriculture is adding to climate change and negatively impacting health outcomes. Photo Credit: ©Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 01.07.2021 (SciDev.Net): While increased agriculture production has reduced hunger, it is also linked to unhealthy diets and increased emissions that are severely affecting human health, says a study.

Published in Environmental Research Communications, the study focuses on the integrated assessment of global climate, air pollution and health impacts of food production and consumption.

“Changing global food consumption patterns towards healthier diets would see reductions in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and dietary health benefits,” says Chris Malley, lead author of the study and senior research fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute’s (SEI) office at the University of York in the UK.

As many as 640,000 premature deaths are associated with high red meat consumption in East and South-East Asia, according to the study. An estimated 4.1 million deaths in 2018 were associated with dietary health risks, 6.0 million with overweight or obesity, and 730,000 infant deaths resulted from malnutrition.

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Good nutrition essential to reduce maternal & infant mortality

11/02/2012 0 Comments read Gender, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Jhakaron ki Dhani (Jodhpur, Rajasthan) 11.02.2012: In the dusty village of Jhakaron ki Dhani, 25 km from Jodhpur in western Rajasthan, early marriage and early motherhood are not uncommon. Shamu Meghwal was married at the age of 13 and her first baby was born at 15. At 25, she is the mother of four kids and has just lost her husband. Visibly anaemic, she epitomises the many young women in her community experiencing weakness, back and abdominal pain.

It is estimated that more than half of all married women in India are anaemic and one-third of them are malnourished (have a body index below normal). “These women are already at a lower health level when they get pregnant. They don’t receive proper nutrition, especially vital during pregnancy. This makes them anaemic resulting in long-term consequences on their health”, says Dr Kanta Tiwari, a known gynaecologist, who has been working in Jodhpur and surrounding areas for the past 41 years.

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