Heather Danton Joins Devex Panel Exploring on Integrating Nutrition and Health post-COVID

JSI’s Heather Danton, USAID Advancing Nutrition Project Director, joined other nutrition experts on May 12, 2021, on a Devex panel as part of their Future of Food Systems series. 

The event explored the multisectoral nutrition challenges facing many families in low- and middle-income countries and identify ways to move beyond merely increasing access to nutritious food to better integrating nutrition and health systems for nutrition.

Through her comments, Heather highlighted issues ranging from the impact of the COVID pandemic on the food system to sharing some of the challenges we face in better integrating food systems with health systems to improve nutrition.

Malnutrition is the leading risk factor for death in children globally: accounting for 45% of all child deaths, yet these losses are almost entirely preventable. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 1 in 3 people around the world had at least one form of malnutrition. Based on current trends, this number is set to rise to 1 in 2 by 2025, and the world risks backsliding on nutrition gains, with irreversible impacts on mortality and lost potential. By 2022, the impact of COVID-19 could result in an additional 11.9 million severely malnourished children. In many parts of the world, malnutrition will likely be the most deadly and long-lasting consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic – killing more people than the virus itself.

To tackle malnutrition, an overhaul of the world’s food and health systems is needed. The solutions to malnutrition are multi-sectoral and require close collaboration between food and health systems. To solve the global nutrition crisis equitably, we must tailor our approach to focus on food and health. This webinar brought together key nutrition experts to examine these issues and pose solutions to move forward.

Register now and explore the series to learn how food systems can work better, making food fair and healthy for all.