News Overview

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 September 5, 2023, Washington, DC: A comprehensive package of nutrition education interventions delivered through public primary schools can significantly improve dietary practices among adolescents, according to a new study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. The research, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the FHI 360 Alive & Thrive initiative, is among the very few to evaluate a

BY SUMAN CHAKRABARTI AND LEIGH HAMLET Globally, childhood chronic undernutrition is a major public health concern and can lead to low height-for-age, also known as stunting or linear growth faltering. When children’s growth falls short for their age, it can have profound implications on their development and future contributions to society. During the 20th century, strategies to improve water and sanitation

by Emanuel Obuobie, Claudia Ringler, Hager El Didi, and Wei Zhang OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Thousands of farmers living in the Keta and Anloga districts of Ghana (Figure 1) depend on groundwater from the Keta strip for producing vegetables and other food crops for consumption and income generation. The Keta strip lies between a salty lagoon (the Keta lagoon)

by Taddese Zerfu, Fantu Bachewe, Tirsit Genye, Meron Girma, Aregash Samuel, James Warmer, and Cornelia Van Zyl OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Hidden hunger—the silent epidemic of micronutrient deficiencies—is driven by poverty and continues to be a major public health challenge in the developing world. More than 3 billion people worldwide, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, simply cannot

by Kaleab Baye and Claudia Ringler OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Poor nutrition threatens health, exacerbates inequalities, affects economic productivity, and traps countries like Ethiopia in a vicious cycle of poverty. About 38% of children below the age of 5 in the country are too short for their age (stunted). This means that these children live in an environment that impairs

by Joseph Glauber, Soonho Kim, Elsa Olivetti, and Rob Vos OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Russia’s July 17 withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), has sparked fears of reduced exports of wheat and other key commodities to developing countries, along with other market disruptions. The grain deal, in place for almost a year, had clear benefits for global markets and food

OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) promotes a universal practice that has multiple short- and long-term benefits for children, mothers, and for public health in general. Yet too many mothers around the world, in low-, middle-, and high-income countries alike, face numerous challenges to breastfeeding their babies. We asked IFPRI researchers Purnima Menon, Sunny Kim, and Phuong Hong Nguyen to talk about

Following Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement, “Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, and other lower-income Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Pakistan worry about what comes next,” writes the Associated Press. “Despite the volatility, the costs are below what they were before Russia invaded Ukraine, and there is enough production to meet worldwide demand, said Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the