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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.

researcher spotlight

Kate Ambler

Kate Amber is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit. Kate’s research broadly focuses on interventions that can increase incomes for smallholders and other microenterprises in agrifood value chains, with a specific focus on the inclusion of women. This includes work on programming in fragile settings, innovations in agricultural finance, and regulatory solutions for food safety. 

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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

Aulo Gelli

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Aulo Gelli is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. His main interests and experience are in the intersection of food policy and nutrition, with a particular focus on evaluating the impact of child health and nutrition interventions.

Prior to working at IFPRI, Aulo worked as a Research Fellow at Imperial College, as a Policy Analyst at the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences, and as a Statistician at the World Food Programme. Aulo trained as a physicist at Imperial College London, and then earned an MS in Information Processing and Neural Networks at Kings College London working on semantic memory models. He later studied human perception and cognition at the Laboratory of Neurobiology at University College London. He transitioned his career toward food policy and earned an MA in Development Economics and Food Security at the University of Rome, and a DPhil from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London.

Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

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Publications

Publications

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Journal Article

The costs of a multisectoral nutrition program implemented through a poultry value chain platform in Burkina Faso

2025Margolies, Amy; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Twalibu, Aisha; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Wun, Jolene; Kemp, Chris; Gelli, Aulo; Levin, Carol
Details

The costs of a multisectoral nutrition program implemented through a poultry value chain platform in Burkina Faso

Undernutrition in women and young children in Burkina Faso is a critical problem. Egg consumption is low despite many households raising poultry. The Soutenir l’Exploitation Familiale pour Lancer l’Élevage des Volailles et Valoriser l’Économie Rurale (SELEVER) project, an integrated agriculture-nutrition intervention, promoted egg consumption and sales to investigate the impact of poultry production on child nutrition. Multisectoral nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs address nutrition deficits but lack comparable cost information. This study estimates the costs of the SELEVER program, an integrated poultry and nutrition intervention. The study estimates the program’s economic costs using a standardized methodology from the Strengthening Economic Evaluation for Multisectoral Strategies for Nutrition (SEEMS-Nutrition) consortium, which aligns financial and economic costs along program impact pathways, allocating costs by activities and inputs. We conducted qualitative interviews and focus groups on time allocation and beneficiary out-of-pocket costs. Incremental economic costs were calculated by combining expenditures and economic costs. The total incremental program cost was USD$18,084,727.68 over 5 years, with annual incremental costs of USD$209.20 per direct beneficiary and $796.26 per household. Major cost drivers included overhead (18%), poultry extension (17%), training (16%), household counseling (7%), technical assistance (7%) and microcredit (6%). Total input costs were dominated by personnel (51%), supplies (13%), agricultural inputs (10%) and overhead (9%). We present the total incremental costs of a multisectoral nutrition intervention to generate revenue with poultry. The costs per beneficiary were higher than similar interventions, underscoring the need for cost-effectiveness evaluations of multisectoral nutrition programs. A standardized cost methodology facilitates comparisons with multisectoral nutrition interventions and builds the evidence base.

Year published

2025

Authors

Margolies, Amy; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Twalibu, Aisha; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Wun, Jolene; Kemp, Chris; Gelli, Aulo; Levin, Carol

Citation

Margolies, Amy; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Twalibu, Aisha; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Wun, Jolene; Kemp, Chris; Gelli, Aulo; and Levin, Carol. The costs of a multisectoral nutrition program implemented through a poultry value chain platform in Burkina Faso. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Article in press. First available online on January 3, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13791

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Nutrition; Poultry; Value Chains; Children; Costs; Gender; Sustainability; Impact Assessment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13791 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review

2025Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review

Suboptimal diets contribute to the risk of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases across the life course. Globally, intakes of fruit and vegetables (F&V) fall below recommendations, including in the Philippines. To promote F&V intakes, understanding the extent of inadequate intakes across population groups and key drivers of dietary patterns is needed. This narrative scoping review was conducted to map the diet, F&V intakes and nutritional status in the Philippines. PubMed was searched using keywords specific to diet, F&V intake, and nutritional status, with 50, 24 and 22 articles meeting the inclusion criteria for diet, F&V intake, and nutritional status, respectively. Available evidence indicates that across all population and sociodemographic groups, diets lacked diversity, with high intakes of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, such as refined rice and sugar-based foods and beverages, contributing to inadequate micronutrient intakes. Intakes of F&V were especially low across all population groups. Stunting/short height, wasting and underweight were prevalent among children and adolescents, and micronutrient deficiencies (iron, zinc, vitamin A) were common among children < 5 years of age. More than one-quarter of adults were overweight or obese and demonstrated poor cardiometabolic health. A lack of published evidence identified through this search reported on pregnant and lactating women and women of reproductive age. Published evaluations assessing the impact of interventions or programmes to improve diets or F&V intake were limited. Additional research to fill these gaps will help design interventions and target entry points to improve diet diversity and F&V intakes across all population groups.

Year published

2025

Authors

Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; and Olney, Deanna K. Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Supplement Article in press. First published online December 13, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13786

Country/Region

Philippines

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Oceania; Adolescents; Adults; Dietary Diversity; Diet Quality; Fruits; Nutrition; Trace Elements; Vegetables

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13786 Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Unpacking power dynamics and women’s economic empowerment in polygynous households in Burkina Faso

2025Eissler, Sarah; Heckert, Jessica; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Sanou, Armande; Ganaba, Rasmané; Gelli, Aulo
Details

Unpacking power dynamics and women’s economic empowerment in polygynous households in Burkina Faso

Objective We aim to describe power distributions in polygynous households and consider how these matter for the production and allocation of food-generating resources in western Burkina Faso, where there is a high prevalence of polygyny. Background Recent studies on polygyny focus on its likely negative consequences and mechanisms for explaining these outcomes using data from large multitopic surveys. These approaches fail to consider the underlying dynamics in polygynous households. Method As part of a 5-year mixed-methods evaluation of a nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry value chain intervention in western Burkina Faso, we conducted a thematic analysis of 24 gender-disaggregated focus group discussions (265 individuals) and 24 semi-structured interviews in six communities. They focused on gender and power dynamics, food production, and food allocation with a specific focus on polygyny. Results Relationships among co-wives are often cooperative, though not necessarily warm, and typically hierarchical. Monogamous and polygynous marriage may support women’s empowerment in different domains. Polygynous co-wives may be able to divide care work, but first wives often control how labor is divided. In monogamous marriages, wives often make decisions jointly with their husbands, while in polygynous marriages, most co-wives are left out of decisions. In polygynous households, women are better able to maintain control over their earnings. Conclusion We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for studying polygynous households in quantitative surveys and in terms of how to better design and target interventions for this population.

Year published

2025

Authors

Eissler, Sarah; Heckert, Jessica; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Sanou, Armande; Ganaba, Rasmané; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Eissler, Sarah; Heckert, Jessica; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Sanou, Armande; Ganaba, Rasmané; and Gelli, Aulo. Unpacking power dynamics and women’s economic empowerment in polygynous households in Burkina Faso. Journal of Marriage and Family. Article in press. First published online December 30, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13063

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Gender; Households; Nutrition; Value Chain Analysis; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13063 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Unlocking opportunities for planet-friendly school meals
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 08, 2023

Unlocking opportunities for planet-friendly school meals

By Aulo Gelli and Marie Ruel

Balancing nutrition and climate.

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – and could offer lessons for scaling up
IFPRI Blog
 | 
September 20, 2023

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – and could offer lessons for scaling up

By Elisheba Kiru and Aulo Gelli

Providing subsidized lunches for 250,000 Nairobi students.

Making a Difference: Childcare centers as a platform for improving child nutrition in Malawi
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 16, 2023

Making a Difference: Childcare centers as a platform for improving child nutrition in Malawi

By Aulo Gelli, Amy Margolies, and Brian McNamara

Education programs for parents yield continuing benefits.

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Events

Official Launch of the Third School Meal Programs Around the World Report
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

February 4, 2025, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Official Launch of the Third School Meal Programs Around the World Report

Also streaming on Please type your questions into the chat box with name, affiliation, and country. The event video, presenter slides, and podcast will be available in the days following the event. School meal programs are an effective way to boost children’s nutrition and wellbeing, including physiological development and academic performance. These programs can also […]

School meals in the 21st century - emerging evidence and future directions
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

January 28, 2025, 9:30 – 11:00 am

School meals in the 21st century – emerging evidence and future directions

Also streaming on Please type your questions into the chat box with name, affiliation, and country. The event video, presenter slides, and podcast will be available in the days following the event. Undernutrition during childhood and early adolescence has long-term consequences for development and health, and for girls it can affect the survival and wellbeing […]

Nudging for Good: AI driven diagnostics and behavior change to improve diets and nutrition
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

July 28, 2022, 12:00 – 2:00 pm

Nudging for Good: AI driven diagnostics and behavior change to improve diets and nutrition

Virtual Event: July 28, 2022 – 12:00 PM to 02:00 PM EDT. This seminar will launch the FRANI app and discuss the results of new dietary assessment technologies and perspectives on the way forward for technology-assisted diet assessment.

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News

September 18, 2023 | In the News

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – it could offer lessons for scaling up (The Conversation) 

More than 250,000 children in public primary schools in Nairobi will receive regular subsidized school meals provided by the county government. The Dishi Na County program is Kenya’s first in an urban setting. The national school meal program set up in 2009 serves more than 1.5 million children in rural drought-affected counties. The Conversation asked Elisheba Kiru (African Population and […]

July 11, 2023 | Press Release

Women key to crop success in low-income countries

This post is a slightly modified version of the original press release issued by the University of Edinburgh. Empowering women farmers in low and middle-income countries can lead to greater crop diversity helping to improve year-round supply of healthy foods, suggests a new article published in The Lancet Planetary Health by a group of authors including […]

July 11, 2023 | In the News

Editorial: Empower women to grow (The Lancet Planetary Health)

“Almost half of the world’s agricultural workers are women and women farmers produce up to 80% of the food grown in LMICs. Despite their large contribution to agricultural labor, fewer than 20% of landowners globally are women,” writes The Lancet Planetary Health in an editorial featuring a new article co-authored by IFPRI’s Lilia Bliznashka, Aulo Gelli, and […]

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