As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten health and food systems in Africa and around the world, the 2020 Global Nutrition Report calls on governments, businesses and civil society to step up efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms.
As inequalities and malnutrition continue to sweep the world and Africa, the 2020 Global Nutrition Report stresses that the need to address malnutrition in all its forms by tackling injustices in food and health systems is now more urgent than ever.
Of 37 countries that struggle with three forms of malnutrition – childhood stunting, anaemia in women of reproductive age and overweight among women – 27 were in Africa.
Venkatesh Mannar, Co-Chair of the Report and Special Adviser on Nutrition to the Tata Cornell Agriculture Nutrition Initiative, said: “At a time when COVID-19 has further revealed the gaps in our food systems, we now have a unique opportunity to act in coordination to address them and ensure that healthy and sustainably produced food is the most accessible, affordable and desirable choice for all.”
Renata Micha, Co-Chair of the Report and Research Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said: “Good nutrition is an essential defence strategy to protect populations against epidemics, release the burden on our health systems, deliver Universal Health Coverage and ultimately save lives.
