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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

Harold Alderman

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Harold Alderman is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. He has gravitated toward research on the economics of nutrition and food policy. His current research focuses on the linkages between nutrition and early child development and the means by which nutrition and social protection programs contribute to long-term economic growth. Harold spent 10 years at IFPRI prior to joining the World Bank in 1991, where he divided his time between the Development Research Group and advising the Africa region on social protection policy. He rejoined IFPRI in 2012. He has both a master’s degree in Nutrition from Cornell University and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Publications

Publications

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Book Chapter

Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets

2024Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; Raghunathan, Kalyani
Details

Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets

As new metrics of healthy diet affordability have been developed in the past five years, it is estimated that between 2 and 3 billion people worldwide — mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) — cannot afford a healthy diet. The implications for human nutrition are striking: affordability is a binding constraint to achieving a healthy diet in the world’s poorest countries. This chapter poses several questions to initiate strategic thinking on possible responses to this challenge and recommends actions to support shifts toward healthy diets in LMICs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; Raghunathan, Kalyani

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; and Raghunathan, Kalyani. 2024. Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets. In Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition. Chapter 4, Pp. 36-45. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141885

Keywords

Food Prices; Food Affordability; Healthy Diets; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Journal Article

School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up?

2024Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; Gelli, Aulo
Details

School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up?

School meal programs are popular social programs. They are provided to 61 percent of primary students in high-income countries but to a smaller share of students in less wealthy countries. There is a body of evidence documenting their contribution to education, health and nutrition, and social protection. But in each domain, program objectives have evolved: schooling is recognized to be more about learning than grades obtained; nutrition goals include healthy diets that reduce risks of non-communicable diseases and are more environmentally responsible; social protection programs aim to respond to acute crises and address chronic poverty. In addition to assisting in these sectors, school meal programs are tasked with creating food systems that assist smallholder farmers, an endeavor that has yet to be extensively studied. This review examines the latest evidence on these evolving dimensions of school meal programs. Findings suggest that while there is a strong evidence base for school meals, there are also specific gaps in the evidence of effectiveness and a particular lack of clarity around costs. The country-led School Meals Coalition, developed in response to COVID pandemic-related school closures, has brought new momentum to national programs and new urgency for reliable evidence on effectiveness and costs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; and Gelli, Aulo. School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up? World Bank Research Observer. Article in press. First published online February 23, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkad012

Keywords

Education; Health; Nutrition; School Feeding; Social Services

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkad012 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

The glass of milk half-empty? Dairy development and nutrition in low and middle income countries

2024Headey, Derek D.; Alderman, Harold; Hoddinott, John; Narayanan, Sudha
Details

The glass of milk half-empty? Dairy development and nutrition in low and middle income countries

Dairy products have an exceptionally rich nutrient profile and have long been promoted in high income countries to redress child malnutrition. But given all this potential, and the high burden of undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), why isn’t dairy consumption more actively promoted in the developing world? In this review we focus on a broadly defined concept of “dairy development” to include production, trade, marketing, regulation, and demand stimulation. We address three key questions. First, how strong is the evidence on the importance of dairy production and consumption for improving nutrition among young children in LMICs? Second, which regions have the lowest consumption of dairy products? Third, what are the supply- and demand-side challenges that prevent LMICs from expanding dairy consumption? We argue that although more nutrition- and consumer-oriented dairy development interventions have tremendous potential to redress undernutrition in LMICs, the pathways for achieving this development are highly context-specific: LMICs with significant agroecological potential for dairy production primarily require institutional solutions for the complex marketing challenges in perishable milk value chains; lower potential LMICs require consumer-oriented trade and industrial approaches to the sector’s development. And all dairy strategies require a stronger focus on cross-cutting issues of nutrition education and demand creation, food safety and quality, gender and inclusiveness, and environmental sustainability and resilience. We conclude our review by emphasizing important areas for research and policy expansion.

Year published

2024

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Alderman, Harold; Hoddinott, John; Narayanan, Sudha

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Alderman, Harold; Hoddinott, John; and Narayanan, Sudha. 2024. The glass of milk half-empty? Dairy development and nutrition in low and middle income countries. Food Policy 122(January 2024): 102585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102585

Keywords

Child Stunting; Malnutrition; Milk Production; Nutrition Education; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102585 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 24, 2023

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)

By Harold Alderman, Daniel O. Gilligan, Aulo Gelli, Naureen Karachiwalla, and Jessica Leight

Building incentives to foster more effective teaching and learning.

School feeding programs improve nutrition and child growth across generations: Evidence from India
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 12, 2021

School feeding programs improve nutrition and child growth across generations: Evidence from India

By Suman Chakrabarti, Samuel Scott, Harold Alderman, Purnima Menon, and Daniel Gilligan

Research shows for the first time the benefits of a key type of social protection program extend years later to the children of recipients.

Ghana school lunch program linked to improved learning
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 01, 2021

Ghana school lunch program linked to improved learning

By Elisabetta Aurino, Aulo Gelli, Clement Adamba, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Harold Alderman, and Honor Dearlove

A randomized control trial shows positive results on test scores.

Events

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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April 17, 2024, 10:30 – 12:00 pm

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia

Hybrid Event: April 17, 2024 at 10:30am-12:00pm EDT. This event will present findings from a randomized controlled trial of Strengthening PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR), a graduation model program embedded within the PSNP that is led by World Vision, in collaboration with CARE and ORDA, and with support from the Ethiopian government and USAID.

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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July 23 to 25, 2023

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

Event: July 23, 2023 – 8:30 AM to July 25, 2023 – 4:15 PM EDT. IFPRI is participating in the 2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting.

SPIR II Learning Event
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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May 16 to 17, 2023

SPIR II Learning Event

May 16 and 17, 2023 (9:00am – 5:00pm Addis Ababa): The Strengthen PSNP5 Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Ethiopia is a five-year project (2021-2026) that supports implementation of the fifth phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP5) in Amhara and Oromia regions and provides additional graduation model programming through complementary gender-sensitive livelihood, nutrition, and climate resilience activities to strengthen the program and expand its impacts.

News

September 11, 2019 | In the News

Why both poor and rich use the wrong diet (Knack Weekend)

Belgium’s Knack Weekend republished an opinion piece by Senior Researcher Fellows Derek Headey and Harold Alderman. Drawing on their recent study, the authors explained that as countries develop, their food systems get better at providing healthier foods cheaply, but they also get better at providing unhealthier foods cheaply. The authors offered Niger as a case […]

August 03, 2019 | In the News

The obstacles to a healthier life (Estado de Minas)

Brazil’s Estado de Minas reported on obstacles to healthier consumption and highlighted Senior Research Fellows Derek Headey and Harold Alderman’s relative caloric pricing research as evidence of economic barriers to better nutrition. The article quoted Headey, who emphasized that the poor often live in poor food systems, which limits access to nutrient-dense foods.

August 05, 2019 | In the News

Poor diets now a top risk factor in global disease burden–experts (Business Mirror)

The Philippines’ Business Mirror reported on Derek Headey and Harold Alderman’s study on relative caloric pricing, with a focus the data in the Philippines, including the fact that milk is 4.37 times more expensive than the country’s staple food. The article included Headey and Alderman’s recommendation that countries create more nutrition-focused policies.