In the face of a global viral pandemic, science on resilient, healthy, and sustainable food systems has never been more critical. Without substantial emergency relief, 140 million people could fall into extreme poverty, potentially increasing hunger and malnutrition for millions. The world’s most vulnerable, including women, youth, smallholder farmers, and the urban poor, will be the hardest hit.
CGIAR, as the world’s largest public agricultural research network, is working to anticipate and address the causes and consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, building on work that spans almost half a century. As the world prepares to ‘build back better’, CGIAR is adapting its approach to meet global challenges related to food systems, climate change, and sustainable development. A CGIAR COVID-19 Hub, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, will ensure that a research-informed response effectively reaches the world’s most vulnerable.
Interested in how CGIAR is responding to COVID-19? Read Responding to COVID-19: CGIAR’s contribution to global response, recovery and resilience and A 4-point CGIAR response plan on COVID-19.
Key messages
- The global response to the pandemic must be swift and science-based, harnessing knowledge for emergency response, recovery, and resilience.
- The core of CGIAR’s response is based on four research pillars: (1) Food systems; (2) One Health (recognizing the linkages between human, animal, and environmental health); (3) Inclusive public programs for food security and nutrition; and (4) Policies and investments for crisis response, economic recovery, and improved future resilience.
- Building back better – not returning to business as usual following the COVID-19 crisis – is a priority for a united CGIAR in its efforts to transform food systems to reduce poverty, improve food and nutrition security, and improve the quality of natural resources and ecosystem services, in line with global goals on sustainable development and climate change.
- A CGIAR COVID-19 Hub, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, will ensure that a research-informed response effectively reaches the world’s most vulnerable.
CGIAR COVID-19 HUB
A research-informed response to reach the world’s most vulnerable
Tools and databases
Research
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Impact of COVID-19 on livestock value chain in Kenya
04.12.20-
Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on staples food prices in local markets: The case of cooking banana (‘Matooke’) in Uganda
11.11.20-
Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
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Impact of COVID-19 and associated lockdown on livestock and poultry sectors in India
04.11.20-
Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
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Africa’s nomadic pastoralists and their animals are an invisible frontier in pandemic surveillance
15.09.20-
Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
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Re-purposing ILRI labs to support national COVID-19 testing in Kenya
06.09.20-
Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
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COVID-19 & Global Food Security
30.07.20-
Creating JOBS and GROWTH
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Nutrition
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Promoting EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
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Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
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News
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Update on the CGIAR research response to COVID-19
14.01.21-
Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health crisis and massive disruptions to economies and…
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CGIAR researchers share COVID-19 work from across the system
13.01.21-
Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
One key function of the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub, established in July 2020, is to gather…
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From ruptures to fault lines: tracing the global impact of COVID-19 on migrants and rural development
21.12.20-
Creating JOBS and GROWTH
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Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
Migrants are the quintessential global citizens, leaving their places of birth and moving across bor…
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How Africa can Lead the World in the COVID-19 Recovery
18.12.20-
Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
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Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
Africa, compared to Asia, Europe and the US, has largely escaped the devastating death toll…
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Mobile app connects fish farmers with aquaculture information despite COVID-19 in Myanmar
16.12.20-
Big data
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Biodiversity
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Climate
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Creating JOBS and GROWTH
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Living within PLANETARY BOUNDARIES
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Nutrition
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Promoting EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
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Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
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Sustaining FOOD AVAILABILITY
A new mobile application is delivering crucial aquaculture information to small-scale fish farmers w…
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How to support students and the learning process during India’s COVID-19 school closures
09.12.20-
Promoting EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
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Securing PUBLIC HEALTH
The long-term social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown, but many worry…
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Events
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30.04.20 > 30.04.20
Virtual Event - COVID-19: Emerging problems and potential country-level responses
VirtualRead more -
28.04.20 > 28.04.20
Discussion of the 2020 Global Food Policy Report
VirtualRead more -
17.04.20 > 17.04.20
Are We Heading Toward Another Global Food Price Crisis?
VirtualRead more
FAQs
What exactly is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that was first detected to have first detected in humans at the end of 2019. COVID-19 is the name of the disease – the acronym COVID is derived from ‘coronavirus disease’, with ‘19’ referring to the year it emerged – while SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus, as the second coronavirus genetically similar to the one that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).