In its fourth year, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) has many accomplishments to be proud of and much to look forward to. By the end of 2015, biofortified staple foods had reached approximately 15 million people. The aflasafe™ approach for controlling aflatoxins was registered in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, with country investments secured to scale it up. The successful Together for Nutrition initiative expanded from India to Ethiopia, bringing together a range of nutrition stakeholders. The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) 2015 was released alongside the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, building off the success of GNR 2014 to guide nutrition action. Our research portfolio is expanding to include food systems and we are exploring new collaborations with public health partners. Our country and regional engagement contributes to agricultural programs and policies that can better achieve nutrition and health impacts. We also hear loud and clear from the development community that achieving these outcomes is a priority, and that doing so at scale requires making agriculture and other sectors more nutrition and health-sensitive.

In 2015, IFPRI commemorated its 40th anniversary. For the past four decades, the Institute has worked tirelessly to provide research-based policy solutions to bring an end to hunger and malnutrition. The impact of IFPRI’s research travels far beyond its walls. This past year witnessed substantial gains in food and nutrition security on the global stage, and IFPRI was proud to contribute to these shared global achievements.

IFPRI’s Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division (PHND) and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) have conducted research since 2003 on the critical links between nutrition, health, and agriculture. This evaluation considers the impact of the work carried out through 2016, looking at the research strategy, engagement, capacity building, and impact on programs and policies and global dialogue. Findings suggest that the Diet Quality and Health of the Poor program has been successful in developing and sharing valuable research, knowledge, and data, and has brought new issues and approaches to partners and stakeholders. Through a range of projects, the program has effectively engaged with stakeholders, partners, and governments to support capacity enhancement and to help shape national interventions to improve nutrition.

Resilient food systems. Zoonoses transmission. Food safety in fresh-food markets. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, phrases that had most often been found in research papers suddenly emerged on the front pages of newspapers and in trending topics on social media. Countries, corporations, and consumers alike struggled to understand not only how to cope with the threat of the disease itself, but also with meeting basic needs, such as food security, nutrition, and health, as lockdowns and mobility restrictions reshaped the world in very unequal ways, seemingly overnight. As a consortium working across five flagship research areas to address some of the world’s greatest challenges in nutrition and health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) was uniquely prepared to support policymakers and partners in low- and middle-income countries in their COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and to contribute research evidence on ways to build back better toward a more equitable, food secure, and sustainable future.

In its second full year, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) has progressed from establishing its research agenda and partnerships, to identifying and assessing key drivers of change, the role of different actors, and the potential for different approaches to catalyze change and improve the nutrition and health of poor communities.

Resilient food systems. Zoonoses transmission. Food safety in fresh-food markets. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, phrases that had most often been found in research papers suddenly emerged on the front pages of newspapers and in trending topics on social media. Countries, corporations, and consumers alike struggled to understand not only how to cope with the threat of the disease itself, but also with meeting basic needs, such as food security, nutrition, and health, as lockdowns and mobility restrictions reshaped the world in very unequal ways, seemingly overnight. As a consortium working across five flagship research areas to address some of the world’s greatest challenges in nutrition and health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) was uniquely prepared to support policymakers and partners in low- and middle-income countries in their COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and to contribute research evidence on ways to build back better toward a more equitable, food secure, and sustainable future.