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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

Kalyani Raghunathan

Kalyani Raghunathan is Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, based in New Delhi, India. Her research lies at the intersection of agriculture, gender, social protection, and public health and nutrition, with a specific focus on South Asia and Africa. 

Where we work

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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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TOPIC

Food Safety

Food safety is closely linked to food security, the safety and availability of water, and human health. In developing countries, food and waterborne diseases are a major cause of illness and death, and unsafe food and water threaten the livelihoods and long-term prospects of the poor.

We cannot reduce poverty and improve health and nutrition without ensuring access to safe food for all people. However, food safety standards that are too difficult or costly for small farmers to meet can prevent poor populations from accessing markets, and thus limit incomes.

IFPRI researchers and partners provide evidence to policymakers on the importance of food and water safety, as well as on the issues that arise in providing food and water safety. Evaluation of policies and technologies for food safety can help farmers and other value chain actors can meet higher safety standards and reduce food loss and waste, and improve consumer access to safe food.

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Our researchers explore a wide range of questions relevant to food safety: can institutional mechanisms like cooperatives, food safety certifications, and contract farming help poor producers access markets? Are there cost-effective strategies to minimize risks to food and water safety? Can labeling increase consumer demand for safer products? The answers to these and other questions will help policymakers craft effective solutions to provide safe food and water for all. IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, and SDG 6, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Nutrition, Health, and Food Security and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

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Publications

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Report

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Bangladesh

2024Margolies, Amy; Choo, Esther; Singh, Nishmeet; Parvin, Aklima; Ruel, Marie T.; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Bangladesh

Urban-rural disparities in undernutrition in children under five have dissipated. Stunting declined from 2014 to 2022 in both urban and rural areas, but more so in rural areas, leading to comparable rates of stunting in urban and rural areas (22 percent, 24 percent). Wasting remains “high” (according to the World Health Organization) in both urban and rural areas (11 percent). The prevalence of child overweight is low but increasing, especially in Dhaka. Vitamin A deficiency affects half of children under five. Vitamin D and iron deficiencies are higher in urban areas, with zinc and iodine deficiencies more prevalent in rural areas. Urban and rural diets lack fruits and vegetables. A third of urban households have inadequate caloric intake. The cost of a healthy diet increased from $3.03 to $3.64 per person per day from 2017– 2022 and the percentage of the population unable to afford a healthy diet fell from 65 to 48 percent. Currently, 82 million people are unable to afford a healthy diet in the country. The diet diversity of young children has improved since 2011, but gains were seen mostly in rural areas. The percentage of all children fed the minimum meal frequency dropped by 20 percentage points from 2017 to 2022. Urban informal settlements are a concern – children have higher rates of stunting, lower dietary diversity, and higher prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies compared to other urban children. Overweight and obesity in urban adults is a critical problem. More urban women (48 percent) are overweight compared to rural women (35 percent); the same is true for urban men (29 percent) compared to 17 percent for rural men. Some urban nutrition interventions to tackle child undernutrition are being implemented, but few have been rigorously evaluated. Data on urban food environments (FEs) is becoming more available, but there are gaps in knowledge, particularly on the design and evaluation of interventions to counter the influence of the country’s increasingly obesogenic urban FE. National policies include targeted actions to improve urban diets and nutrition. More could be done, however, to improve the healthiness and safety of FEs, leverage social protection programs for the urban poor to make healthy diets more affordable, and to implement double-duty actions to address all forms of malnutrition.

Year published

2024

Authors

Margolies, Amy; Choo, Esther; Singh, Nishmeet; Parvin, Aklima; Ruel, Marie T.; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Margolies, Amy; Choo, Esther; Singh, Nishmeet; Parvin, Aklima; Ruel, Marie; and Olney, Deanna. 2024. Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Bangladesh. Resilient Cities Country Profile. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Rural Urban Relations; Nutrition; Children; Stunting; Non-communicable Diseases; Micronutrient Deficiencies; Food Prices; Dietary Diversity; Food Environment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Report

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Report

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Sri Lanka

2024Margolies, Amy; Craig, Hope; Namara, Rebecca; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Hemachandra, Dilini; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Sri Lanka

Key Messages Child stunting has declined in both rural and urban areas since 2016, but still affects a third of children on estates. Wasting prevalence has increased dramatically since 2016, reaching an alarming prevalence of 20 percent in urban areas. There is insufficient intake of nutritious foods, particularly in rural areas, and diet quality is negatively influenced by obesogenic food environments as the urbanization process continues. The cost of a healthy diet increased from $3.58 to $4.77 per person per day from 2017 to 2022, and 41 percent of the population is unable to afford a healthy diet. The prevalence of overweight, obesity and noncommunicable diseases is increasing nationally with higher burdens of overweight and obesity in urban populations and among women. National nutrition policies reference urban areas but do not adequately address the dual challenges of undernutrition (such as wasting) and overnutrition (such as overweight, obesity, and NCDs) common to urban contexts. Evidence is lacking on how to effectively address the double burden of malnutrition, yet clearly double-duty actions to address all forms of malnutrition will be essential.

Year published

2024

Authors

Margolies, Amy; Craig, Hope; Namara, Rebecca; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Hemachandra, Dilini; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Margolies, Amy; Craig, Hope; Namara, Rebecca; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Hemachandra, Dilini; and Olney, Deanna. 2024. Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Sri Lanka. Resilient Cities Country Profile. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Sri Lanka

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Stunting; Rural Urban Relations; Children; Wasting Disease (nutritional Disorder); Nutrition; Diet; Food Prices; Non-communicable Diseases; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Resilient Cities

Record type

Report

Resource thumbnail

Report

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Ethiopia

2024Margolies, Amy; Amunga, Dorcas; Zerfu, Taddese; Ruel, Marie T.; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Ethiopia

Key Messages -Undernutrition has declined over time, but stunting still affects 40 percent of rural children and 25 percent of urban children. -Micronutrient deficiencies—especially deficiencies in folate, zinc and Vitamin D—are a critical concern, particularly for urban women and girls. -Dietary quality is low in both rural and urban areas: while urban diets are moderately more diverse than rural ones, rising consumption of unhealthy foods is more of a concern than in rural areas at this time. -The cost of consuming a healthy diet in Ethiopia increased from US $2.83 to $3.72 from 2017—2022, and over half of the population is currently unable to afford a healthy diet. -Concurrent conflict and climate shocks are causing acute nutritional needs in some regions. Humanitarian food aid is key to reducing food insecurity and should be provided to households without access to land who rely on income for food purchases, such as those in urban areas. -Overweight and obesity are still uncommon among young children but are increasing rapidly among urban women. In urban areas, 20 percent of women are overweight, compared to 4 percent in rural areas. The rise in urban overweight is driven by lifestyle changes associated with urbanization and unhealthy food environments, which are associated with poor quality diets and reduced physical activity. -Overnutrition and diet-related noncommunicable diseases are especially prevalent in Addis Ababa. -Food safety is a challenge, and evidence is lacking on how to improve vendor safety knowledge and practices to protect consumer health. -National social protection programs often fail to reach the urban poor and lack explicit nutrition interventions in urban areas. -There is a need to design and test urban nutrition interventions that address both over and undernutrition (such as double-duty actions) in urban populations.

Year published

2024

Authors

Margolies, Amy; Amunga, Dorcas; Zerfu, Taddese; Ruel, Marie T.; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Margolies, Amy; Amunga, Dorcas; Zerfu, Taddese; Ruel, Marie; and Olney, Deanna. 2024. Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Ethiopia. Resilient Cities Country Profile. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Nutrition; Stunting; Children; Micronutrient Deficiencies; Diet; Rural Urban Relations; Food Safety

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Resilient Cities

Record type

Report

Blogs

World Cities Day 2024: Building more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban food systems
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 31, 2024

World Cities Day 2024: Building more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban food systems

IFPRI researchers on urbanization.

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 06, 2024

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information

By Vivian Hoffmann

Targeting interventions to benefit public health.

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 04, 2020

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa

By Steven Jaffee and Delia Grace

A “business as usual” approach to food safety will do little to check the health threats in many countries.

View all Blogs

Events

Fruit & Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets: 2024 FRESH Science Conference
Series/Special Event

 | 

August 26 to 27, 2024

Fruit & Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets: 2024 FRESH Science Conference

Poor diets are a primary cause of malnutrition and the leading cause of disease worldwide. Improving diets, especially through increasing fruit and vegetable intake, can help to address these health and nutrition challenges. However, fruit and vegetable intake falls below recommended levels globally. The factors contributing to low fruit and vegetable consumption are complex, requiring […]

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

February 28, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies

Webinar: February 28, 2024 – 09:30 AM to 11:00 AM EST. IFPRI is participating in the “Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies” webinar.

Agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: New scenarios and opportunities post COVID-19
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

November 4 to 6, 2020

Agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: New scenarios and opportunities post COVID-19

IFPRI is participating with FAO’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in the celebration of World Food Day and FAO’s 75th anniversary. Given the complexity of managing the COVID-19 pandemic and its significant adverse effects on the region’s economies, FAO is convening stakeholders who impact agri-food systems to provide an institutional response by facilitating and promoting […]

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News

November 10, 2020 | In the News

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa (AG Health)

AG Health republished a blog post from Steven Jaffee and Delia Grace. The authors stated that recent research has shown that the health and economic consequences of foodborne diseases in Africa are significant and growing, as urbanization and income growth prompt dietary changes that increasingly expose consumers to food safety hazards. A ‘business as usual’ approach to food […]

May 01, 2020 | In the News

How to avoid the global food safety crisis? (Caixin) 

Caixin (China) published a news report on COVID19’s impact on food safety. The article quoted Senior Research Fellow, David Laborde, who said policies, such as export restrictions, are based on panic purchases and will cause shortages. He said that the current situation is controllable if policymakers in various countries “take action based on evidence rather than fear.” Laborde recommends that policymakers in various […]

January 24, 2020 | Press Release

Securing the Harvest: A Forum on Improved Grain Storage for Smallholder Agriculture

According to the FAO, each year about 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption is lost after harvest and before reaching consumers. Postharvest losses not only reduce quantity but also the quality of stored grain and are amplified by changing weather patterns. Improved grain drying and storage can be key mitigators of postharvest loss, resulting […]

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Our experts

Gashaw Abate

Gashaw Abate

Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

Nina Jovanovic

Nina Jovanovic

Associate Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Jef L. Leroy

Jef L. Leroy

Senior Research Fellow, Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Moogdho Mahzab

Moogdho Mahzab

Associate Research Fellow, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Aditi Chugh

Aditi Chugh

Research Analyst, Development
Strategies and Governance

Soyra Gune

Soyra Gune

Research Analyst, Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Ester Jimmy

Ester Jimmy

Research Associate, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Mike Murphy

Mike Murphy

Senior Research Analyst, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions