News Overview

This post is the sixth in a series on a research project in Guatemala and Burundi that evaluated how to optimize food assistance programs for maximum impact. Read the first piece here, second here, third here, fourth here, and fifth here. The global health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are decimating livelihoods, threatening food security, and increasing mortality rates. One of the gravest consequences is

BY SHYAMAL CHOWDHURY, NAHIAN BIN KHALED, KALYANI RAGHUNATHAN, SHAHIDUR RASHID AND HONOR DEARLOVE Bangladesh’s March-May 2020 COVID-19 lockdown has had severe consequences for the incomes and food security of poor households. Public food transfer programs have traditionally been the most common social protection programs in Bangladesh. The largest, the Food Friendly Program (FFP), was favorably evaluated in 2018, but during

The double burden of malnutrition—the coexistence of underweight and micronutrient deficiencies with overweight and obesity—has become a major global public health concern. It is particularly acute in rapidly expanding urban areas, where the ready availability of cheap, processed foods and sugary drinks along with increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to overnutrition, particularly among poorer populations. At the same time, socioeconomic

BY WEI ZHANG AND JESSICA WALLACH Maintaining healthy soils is crucial to long-term agricultural sustainability and food security—yet soils face major stresses worldwide. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils rated one third of land worldwide as moderately to highly degraded. The impacts are especially serious in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia, where smallholder farmers must contend

BY CLAUDIA RINGLER COVID-19 may have forced the 50th anniversary of Earth Day to be commemorated online last year, yet millions of people participated in calls to action. As we begin to look beyond the pandemic, however, it’s vital to remember that we cannot go back to business-as-usual as far as our planet is concerned. Against the backdrop of Earth Day 2021’s

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions of social interactions, affecting both the supply and demand for food. These disruptions to jobs, income and food supply magnified and exacerbated existing inequalities. While the emerging urban middle class suffered greater income losses, the poor and vulnerable in rural and urban areas experienced the worst livelihood impacts. Many social programs, including cash transfers,

As COVID-19 continues to affect people around the world, an understanding of the scope of impacts from the pandemic and the lockdowns, mobility restrictions, and other policies enacted in its wake is only beginning to emerge. The CGIAR COVID-19 Hub recently released the first world-level assessment on the impacts of COVID-19 on food security. In a March 2 virtual policy seminar, lead author Christophe Béné, a

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted urban and rural households throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG). Looking ahead, policy makers and development practitioners must continue to mitigate COVID-19 impacts on PNG households, as well as monitor other potential agricultural production shocks (such as El Niño, African Swine Fever, etc.) that could substantially decrease household income and food consumption. Our recent study simulates the