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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.

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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

Kalle Hirvonen

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Kalle Hirvonen is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. ​Through his research, Kalle seeks to understand how to sustainably improve nutrition and food security outcomes in low-income countries. Thematically, this work sits at the intersection of development, health, and agricultural economics. Kalle has done extensive research in areas of social protection, agriculture-nutrition linkages, food systems, value chains, and food markets. Most of his work is based on statistical analyses of primary data from large-scale household surveys or randomized controlled trials. Kalle holds a PhD in Economics and a master’s degrees in Development Economics from the University of Sussex, UK, as well as a master’s degree in International Economics from the University of Helsinki.

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Publications

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Journal Article

Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia

2024Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; Baye, Kaleab
Details

Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia

Consumption of milk is linked to improved nutrient intake and reduced risk of child malnutrition in low and middle-income countries. However, these benefits are contingent on the safety and quality of the milk. Milk consumption may alleviate the widespread risk of malnutrition in rural Ethiopia, but milk-borne contaminants may also compromise child health. We aimed to: i) identify the types of dairy feeds used, their storage conditions, and potential risk of aflatoxin contamination; ii) assess stakeholders’ knowledge about aflatoxin contamination along the value chain; and iii) assess parental practices on feeding milk to infants and young children. This qualitative study was conducted in the Sidama region, southern Ethiopia. In-depth interviews (n = 12) and key-informant interviews (n = 18) were conducted with actors along the dairy value chain. Focus-group discussions were conducted with farmers (9FGD/n = 129) and child caregivers (9FGD/n = 122). Study participants were selected to represent a rural-urban gradient, as well as low- and high- dairy cow holdings. We found that while animal-feed processors and their distribution agents had relatively good knowledge about aflatoxin, farmers and retailers did not. Feed storage conditions were poor. Many respondents linked moldy feeds to animal health but not to human health. Farmers’ feed choice was influenced by cost, seasonality, and herd size. Small-holding farmers had limited access to commercial feed. Children’s consumption of milk was limited to skim milk, as butter was extracted and sold for income. The high cost of dairy products also led some parents to dilute skim milk with water before feeding children, compromising the nutritional value and safety of the milk. Our findings underscore the need to address the gaps in aflatoxin and food safety knowledge, improve storage conditions, and ensure the availability of quality feed to increase the sector’s productivity, but most importantly to protect consumers’ health and well-being, especially infants and young children.

Year published

2024

Authors

Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; Baye, Kaleab

Citation

Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; and Baye, Kaleab. Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia. One Health 18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100672

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Feed Safety; Aflatoxins; Child Health; Milk; Consumption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100672 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

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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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Report

Implementer-Led Evaluation and Learning (IMPEL) evaluation of SPIR II RFSA – Midline survey report

2024Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Leight, Jessica; Tesfaye, Haleluya
Details

Implementer-Led Evaluation and Learning (IMPEL) evaluation of SPIR II RFSA – Midline survey report

The objective of this report is to present results from the midline survey conducted as part of the IMPEL evaluation of SPIR-II, a randomized controlled trial launched in 2022. The second phase of the Strengthen PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR-II) project aims to enhance livelihoods, increase resilience to shocks, and improve food security and nutrition for rural households vulnerable to food insecurity in Ethiopia. The project is situated within Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), one of the largest safety net programs in Africa. Funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), SPIR-II is implemented by World Vision International (lead), CARE, and ORDA in the Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. The IMPEL SPIR-II impact evaluation employs an experimental design with three arms comparing two treatment combinations of livelihood and nutrition graduation model programming provided to PSNP beneficiaries relative to a control group receiving only PSNP transfers. The treatment assignment is randomized at the kebele level in 234 kebeles. In the first arm (T1; the control group), PSNP is implemented by the government with SPIR II support for the provision of cash and food transfers only (no supplemental programming). In the second arm (T2), SPIR-II programming is rolled out to PSNP beneficiary households in conjunction with nurturing care groups targeting enhanced infant and young child nutritional practices. In the third arm (T3), PSNP beneficiary households receive SPIR-II programming and nurturing care groups (NCGs), supplemented with additional targeted cash transfers to pregnant and lactating women.

Year published

2024

Authors

Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Leight, Jessica; Tesfaye, Haleluya

Citation

Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Leight, Jessica; and Tesfaye, Haleluya. 2024. Implementer-Led Evaluation and Learning (IMPEL) evaluation of SPIR II RFSA – Midline survey report. Washington, DC: The Implementer-Led Evaluation & Learning Associate Award; International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Cash Transfers; Children; Food Security; Households; Nutrition; Poverty; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Report

Blogs

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 04, 2024

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia

By Kalle Hirvonen, Daniel Gilligan, Jessica Leight, Heleene Tambet, and Victor Villa

Safety nets can buttress households against climate shocks.

Can phone surveys be used in standard poverty measurement? Evidence from Ethiopia
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 09, 2023

Can phone surveys be used in standard poverty measurement? Evidence from Ethiopia

By Alan de Brauw, Kalle Hirvonen, Gashaw T. Abate, and Abdulazize Wolle

An experiment suggests survey fatigue can skew results.

A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war – but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 25, 2022

A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war – but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable

By Derek Headey and Kalle Hirvonen

The poor in developing countries face severe impacts.

Events

Improving Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Nutrition in Nigeria: Policies and Actions
Series/Special Event

 | 

July 25, 2024, 10:00 – 1:30 pm

Improving Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Nutrition in Nigeria: Policies and Actions

Despite significant progress in addressing hunger and undernutrition in the early 2000s, malnutrition, in all its forms, remains a major challenge in all regions of the world.  Unhealthy diets remain the primary drivers of many forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases.  Today, the number of people who […]

SPIR II Learning Event
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

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.

Rethinking Food Crisis Responses
Series/Special Event

 | 

May 11, 2023, 5:00 – 8:45 am

Rethinking Food Crisis Responses

Virtual Event: May 11, 2023 – 5:00 AM to 8:45 AM EDT. Please join the Nigeria presentation of the Report and the launch of the FCM Initiative on May 11 in Abuja, Nigeria, in person or virtually.

News

May 30, 2021 | In the News

Evidence from 22 African countries shows low trust in authorities is affecting vaccine uptake )The Print)

The Print published an op-ed by Senior research fellow Kalle Hirvonen and his co-authors that states while immunization saves millions of lives each year, progress in vaccine coverage remains highly uneven, both between and within countries. Despite considerable progress over the past two decades, the situation is particularly worrying in Africa. Nearly half of the world’s unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children […]

November 13, 2020 | In the News

The height of the Chinese is the highest in East Asia, so who is at the bottom? (The Paper)

The Paper (China) published an article that referenced the IFPRI research on stunting in children, Evaluation of linear growth at higher altitudes (Jama Pediatrics). The study analyzed the height and age data of more than 950,000 children from 59 countries and showed that the growth rate of children living in an ideal family environment is the same as that of […]

September 24, 2020 | In the News

Living in high altitude areas, children are more prone to developmental delays (Sohu.com)) 

Sohu.com published an article on about new research on stunting in higher altitudes. According to Senior Research Fellow Kalle Hirvonen, “More than 800 million people live at altitudes of 1,500 meters or higher, and two-thirds of them live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. These two regions have most of the stunted children in the world, so understand that altitude […]